Winner Takes All
by SkinTheKat
Summary: Sequel to Changing Places. Gwen AND Theresa's POV. Both have given up on Ethan, but still despise each other and want to win. Will Theresa get Jane back? Will Ethan marry Theresa? Will Gwen find happiness with the man she loves? Feedback welcome!
1. A Hideous Dilemma

Ethan Winthrop sat relaxing in his office at The Winthrop Family Law Firm, staring out the window overlooking the dock aligning Harmony Bay below, brooding. The view was beautiful though he could not see a damned thing. His business was thriving in spite of the scandal he had perpetrated with Theresa at the Opening Celebration Gala a few weeks ago. But the unwelcome lull in activity only served to remind him that his personal life was in shambles.

Upon finding that Gwen had moved out of the boarding house apartment she had shared with him, an uncomfortable Ethan had moved back in, seizing on the excuse to leave his parents' house, where he had to face a fretful Ivy and Sam's reproachful restraint. It was obvious to him that both thought his behavior with Theresa had been abominable; to Ivy, abominably stupid and to Sam, abominably immoral.

The morning after he had discovered that Theresa had made good on her threat not to wait for him if he chased after Gwen by marrying Jared that fateful night, he had been served with a restraining order, barring him from any contact with Theresa or Little Ethan or he would face criminal harassment charges. The order shutting him out of their lives was so strict and so snidely unctuous in its wording that Ethan had no doubt that Jared Casey himself had authored it. Still, it was legal and binding.

As legal and binding as the adoption of Theresa's daughter by his estranged wife, Gwen, unless he himself intervened and had it set aside. Ethan sighed, glancing over once again at the adoption papers and the court reporter's records of the proceedings.

_**Judge Weimer: I seem to recall at our last hearing that you were adamantly against signing over your parental rights to Mr. and Mrs. Winthrop. However, I notice he isn't here. Why isn't your husband with you, Mrs. Winthrop, does he have a problem with you adopting Jane?**_

_**Gwyneth Winthrop: He's raised no objection to my adopting Jane, Your Honor.**_

_**Judge Weimer: Then what is keeping him?**_

_**Gwyneth Winthrop: Your Honor, the adoption proceedings were set up much faster than he ever anticipated. He cannot be here today, because he had to be somewhere else.**_

_**Judge Weimer: Where is he?**_

_**Gwyneth Winthrop: He's with the woman he believed to be his paternal aunt, Sheridan Crane Boothe. She's received devastating news and is totally distraught. You see, the other day, she learned both her mother and son have died.**_

_**Judge Weimer: I heard about that in the news and I understand his absence today. Then, I take it; he has no problems with you adopting his daughter, Jane?**_

_**Gwyneth Winthrop: He's raised no objections, Your Honor.**_

Ethan groaned, raking his fingers through his usually meticulously groomed hair.

Gwen had deliberately misled the judge at Jane's adoption hearing to believe that Ethan was aware of her plans and approved of them. Since Theresa herself was present, raising no objection to the adoption, the judge had assumed all was in order and signed off on Jane's adoption. Ethan idly wondered how Gwen convinced Theresa to let her adopt Jane, seeing how adamant Theresa was about getting her daughter back. What leverage did Gwen have on Theresa? No, Ethan decided. Theresa had been put in tight spots by Gwen and her mother before this and had always managed to slip out of them. He had to accept Theresa's explanation that she was sick and tired of waiting for him to leave Gwen and simply made the arrangement permanent. Especially since Theresa, as usual, had an ace up her sleeve where this custody hearing was concerned. Ethan was ignorant of Gwen's plan to adopt Jane.

Theresa knew that Ethan could always undo Gwen's adoption of Jane when he divorced her. That's why she went along with it. She had further maneuvered Ethan into a corner where he no longer could effect any middle of the road compromise between Gwen and Theresa. One had to win and the other had to lose. He would have to completely side with one and forsake the other. If he sided with Gwen, he would risk losing Theresa to Jared Casey forever. However, if he sided with Theresa, he would risk losing The Winthrop Family Law Firm to Gwen's retaliatory strike. It would be different if there was still a marriage to Gwen to salvage, but it was plain by the divorce and custody papers she had served him with Gwen wanted no part of him.

_"The point is, your life has been turned upside down … repeatedly … as a result of being caught in the crossfire of two battling women you can't control, yet you can't bring yourself to stop playing one against the other. "_

Julian's comments rang so loudly in his head; Ethan almost didn't hear her when Valerie buzzed him.

"Yes, Valerie," Ethan said to his office manager. "What is it?"

"Leon Feldman is here to see you as you requested."

"Send him in," Ethan said, putting the paperwork out of sight in a drawer.

Leon walked in alone.

The two men shook hands very perfunctorily.

"I-I was expecting Gwen to be with you," Ethan said. "Where is she?"

"Mrs. Winthrop will not be present," Feldman answered grimly. "She issued me her power of attorney and is allowing me to represent her interests with you and your counsel today. May I ask where he is?"

"I-uh-I'm representing myself in this action," Ethan said.

"Come, come, Mr. Winthrop," Feldman chided him. "Surely you know that old saw about the man who represents himself has a fool for a client?"

"I do," Ethan admitted. "However, I wanted to attend to this business as quietly as possible."

"Then all you have to do is sign off on the divorce papers that Mrs. Winthrop sent you and I will file them," Feldman retorted. "It's all pretty cut and dried. You remain the nominal head of Winthrop Family Law services and continue to manage it with Mrs. Winthrop as your silent partner in exchange for her retaining sole custody of the minor child, Jane Winthrop."

"Look, Leon," Ethan pleaded. "We've known each other for years. Could we please end with the formalities and drop the surnames? As I said, I want to handle this as amicably as possible and I feel that 'Gwen,' and 'Ethan' can do that easier than Winthrop vs. Winthrop."

"How amicable can this thing be when Gwen caught you screwing the woman she despises most in the world right at the opening celebration gala she threw for you in a business she financed?" Leon demanded. "This is as good as it gets, Ethan. You're lucky she doesn't sue you for sole custody of Jane and for total control of the company. Just sign the divorce papers. It's very, very generous. More generous than you deserve."

"I can't do that," Ethan said.

"Why not?"

"Because Theresa Crane, Jane's _real_ mother, wants her back."

"Mrs. Crane, Jane's _biological_ mother, was present in court during the adoption hearing and raised no objection at the time, Ethan," Leon said bristling protectively. "What kind of game is she playing, here?"

Ethan sighed and whipped out the record of the court proceedings.

"Look at the text, I highlighted, Leon," he said pointing to the judge's observation that he was not present. "Theresa knows that Gwen deliberately misled the judge into thinking I was aware of and approved Gwen's plans to adopt Jane. As you know, that's a fraud Gwen perpetrated on the court and would make Jane's adoption null and void, possibly setting Gwen up for legal trouble. At the very least, she's looking at a contempt citation."

"So, you called me in here to threaten my client with her so-called 'fraudulent adoption' of the minor child Jane unless she gives you something in return," Leon said shrewdly. "Are you trying to use that child as leverage so she signs off on the Winthrop Family Law Firm altogether?"

"No!" Ethan exclaimed, horrified. "I simply want to … renegotiate … custody of Jane. If Gwen is prepared to be … reasonable … about the Winthrop Family Law Firm, I can give her lots of standing with Jane as the stepmother who raised her. Theresa and I could arrange joint custody with standard visitation. Gwen could have her every other weekend and overnight once a week. She could also have her every other Christmas and Thanksgiving. I'm even prepared to allow several weeks over the summer. There is no reason whatsoever that Gwen has to lose Jane completely!"

"That's bullshit and you know it, Ethan!" Leon snapped. "In how many of these joint custody arrangements where regular visitation has been set up by the court only to have the primary custodial parent tell the visiting parent they can wipe their asses with that visitation schedule? And those are even when both parties have biological ties to the child! If Gwen would agree to the overturning of Jane's adoption, she would have even less standing in court with that."

"You'd have my word on it," Ethan solemnly assured him. "There is no way I would allow any interference with any time Gwen spends with Jane, especially that set up in court."

"You gave your word to 'love, honor and cherish' your wife only to be caught by her screwing her worst enemy in front of almost half of Harmony," Leon said. "Your word means nothing to Gwen."

"Then you give me no choice, Leon," Ethan sighed. "During the uproar over Gwen's disappearance, I have discovered that Gwen bought a townhouse in Boston. She was planning to leave me once she secured Jane, wasn't she? I will have to see Judge Weimer and let her know that I was unaware that she planned to adopt Jane and that I never authorized or approved of it!"

"You do that, Ethan," Leon sneered. "You go to court and try to overturn that adoption! The judge will only have your word which means precious little! Did you forget that I was the attorney who processed the paperwork for you and Gwen to force Jane's adoption on Mrs. Crane right after she was born? Remember how I tried to talk you into getting a Russian orphan for Gwen and leaving the child in question with her biological mother? Because if you don't, I do! You would hear nothing of giving Gwen some poor child who needed a mother when you were so adamant about taking Mrs. Crane's child from her! I still have the documentation on file and I will present it as evidence that you always planned for Gwen to adopt Jane!"

"Yes, but Gwen lost all chance at adopting my daughter when she stabbed her mother and kidnapped her," Ethan reminded Leon.

"Yes, but you proved that Gwen did all that because she was suffering from a drug interaction," Leon purred. "Then you proved Mrs. Crane's unfitness as a mother when you claimed she drugged you and sexually assaulted you to conceive that poor child."

Ethan gaped at Leon.

"Unless you want to testify that you perjured yourself in court about the circumstances surrounding little Jane's conception," Leon continued. "Well, then what kind of man would that make you look like, Ethan? Either you are suffering from Stockholm Syndrome and fallen in love with your rapist OR you lied to the entire world, including Mrs. Crane, when you claimed that she raped your unknowing body. That you let her have her way with you, knowing that the obstetrician ordered her to refrain from having sex, so you jeopardized your unborn son to satisfy your baser urges!"

Ethan flushed a bright red at this.

"Sounds either sordid or stupid or both, don't you agree?" Leon asked pleasantly. "Either way, it doesn't make you look like father of the year! The court is already familiar with what an unstable little girl Mrs. Crane is. So, I'd back off on that crazy notion, if I were you, Ethan. Because if you don't, I will encourage Gwen to go scorched earth on you and take the Winthrop Family Law Firm over, fire your dumb ass and also go for complete custody of Jane, allowing you only supervised visits!"

"I see," Ethan said numbly, recognizing defeat when he saw it. "I guess we're done here."

"Not quite," Leon said, pulling out Gwen's divorce papers. "Sign the papers, Ethan. Sign them now and be done with it, so I can file them in court, because this is the best deal you can hope for under the circumstances."

With nerveless fingers, Ethan signed the papers and shoved them back at Leon.

"Thank you, Ethan," Leon said. "I'll show myself out."

As the door closed behind Leon, Ethan distinctly heard him mutter, "Putz!"

Ethan stewed in his own juices for several minutes. It was obvious there was no hope for a future with Theresa, because Gwen had secured Jane completely. He buzzed Valerie to get her to hire a private detective to find Gwen. Once he did, he was confident that Rebecca would convince Gwen to come back to him, at least for Jane's sake if not her own. He did not think this would be difficult for her to do, because the one thing he was sure of was Gwen's love for him.


	2. All or Nothing

Theresa Lopez-Fitzgerald Crane Casey had returned to her home at the Crane Mansion to change into something more casual. Jared had beat her there and had already changed out of his suit into something less formal.

"Hello, Tess," Jared said warmly as his dimples creased his cheeks. You look beautiful with your hair down."

"I thought you once told me that you liked me with my hair up," Theresa chided Jared in playful reproach.

"I do," Jared murmured huskily. He gathered her hair up off her neck, twisting it lightly at her nape. "Your hair pulled up, makes me imagine how beautifully it cascades down your back once you unpin it. It's very beautiful and sensuous … like you."

He leaned into her and kissed her lightly on her perky, upturned nose, then caught her mouth fully and more passionately. Theresa leaned into him and returned his kiss full measure, throwing her arms over his broad shoulders and winding them around his neck, her fingers entangling themselves into his thick, wavy hair.

They were interrupted by someone testily clearing their throat. Both turned to see an angry-looking Ethan Winthrop standing in the doorway.

"I hope I'm not interrupting," Ethan said sarcastically, without a hint of apology in his voice.

"Ethan!" Theresa said startled. "How did you get in here?"

"Pilar let me in," Ethan answered.

"What do you want, Winthrop?" Jared asked with clear hostility in his voice.

Ignoring him, Ethan told Theresa, "I want to talk to Rebecca to see if she's heard anything from Gwen. At my request, her lawyer stopped by my office so I could renegotiate our divorce. I expected to see Gwen with him, but she had simply given him her power of attorney to act on her behalf."

"As you can see," Jared pointed out snidely. "Rebecca isn't here. She's gallivanting out and about. But, like most of the rest of the country, she's got this handy dandy little device called a cell phone. It's really a neat invention, Winthrop. You can reach her anywhere through that thing."

Ethan cut his eyes away Theresa to Jared scornfully.

"Some things have to be taken care of in person," he informed Jared haughtily, then looked back at Theresa meaningfully.

"Again, all that requires is arranging a meeting somewhere neutral by phone," Jared insisted with an edge on his voice. "You graduated from the most elite law school in the world. You are even running that law firm you conned your wife into buying for you. Surely you read the restraining order we served you, enjoining any contact with my wife or my son particularly at her place of business, his school, or her residence? Well, the Crane Mansion as our domicile, our home is that residence, Winthrop. You are not to call us or call on us for the foreseeable future. If you have to talk to your mother-in-law, you can call her on her private phone and arrange a meeting somewhere else."

"You forget that Theresa and I share a daughter," Ethan snapped. "Since Jane is with Gwen right now and Theresa said she wants Jane back, I thought she'd want a status report." Ethan looked at Theresa accusingly. "Unless you no longer care?"

"Of course I care!" Theresa exclaimed, stunned.

"Then I'd like to talk to you about Jane. Alone."

"Don't listen to him, Theresa. He's just looking for another opportunity to screw with your head," Jared warned.

"Should I stay or should I go?" Ethan asked Theresa, raising his eyebrows.

"You can go!" Jared snapped.

"No!" Theresa yelped, then calmed down. "I'm sorry, Jared, but this is Jane he's talking about. I have to find out what's new concerning her. Could you please go check on Little Ethan and keep him occupied until I'm finished talking to Ethan?"

"Okay," Jared said. "I'll leave. For you, Tess. But before I do, I have one question for you, Winthrop," he continued, looking at Ethan significantly. "Who is Gwen's attorney?"

"Leon Feldman," Ethan answered reluctantly.

"I've heard of him. He's got quite a reputation," Jared observed. "Gwen was very, very, very smart to use him. Because knowing him, he made sure every "I" was dotted and "T" was crossed on Jane's adoption papers and who is maintaining majority control over The Winthrop Family Law Firm."

"Feldman is very good," Ethan admitted, flushing angrily. "But what he can't get around is that I'm Jane's father which still leaves me a lot of influence over my daughter's life."

"Jared, even if nothing's changed, I have to find out what Ethan has heard about Jane," Theresa said, looking at Ethan hopefully. "I'm really worried about her. Gwen was not in the best state of mind when she left Harmony and Rebecca is beside herself."

"All right, but don't be surprised if Winthrop tells you that getting Jane back is going to be a cakewalk," Jared warned. "This is probably just another game on his part to get you to play doormat again."

"I am not the villain, here!" Ethan bristled angrily.

"The hell you aren't!" Jared retorted.

"Jared, Ethan is still the father of my child," Theresa reminded her husband. "That means, whether we like it or not, he will always be a part of my life."

"I get the picture, Tess," Jared said calming down.

"Good," Ethan snapped. "Because I will always be in that picture."

The two men looked like they were about to fight.

"That doesn't mean that Ethan is still the center of my life as he was in the past," Theresa continued, firmly. "That place is reserved for my husband and my children. I hope you get that part of the picture. Both of you."

Jared grinned triumphantly as Ethan looked sour. "I sure do, Tess."

He nodded curtly at Ethan and left the room.

"Well?" Theresa demanded. "What happened with Gwen's attorney?"

"First of all, I wanted to tell you I signed the divorce papers," Ethan told Theresa. "Gwen and I are through."

"That's good," Theresa said impatiently. "But when am I getting Jane back?"

"There's a problem with that," Ethan said uneasily.

"What kind of problem?" Theresa asked. "Surely you studied the adoption proceedings. Surely you know that Gwen lied to Judge Weimer when she told her you knew that she planned to adopt Jane and supported it."

"She didn't exactly lie to the court," Ethan said cautiously.

"She said you didn't object to the proceedings," Theresa insisted. "But she implied that you knew about them. She misled the court, Ethan. That's fraud and makes Jane's adoption bogus."

"That's going to be impossible for me to prove," Ethan said.

"Impossible?!" Theresa echoed in bafflement. "In what way? All you have to do is go to court and fight Gwen's custody action based on the fact that you had no idea that she adopted Jane! That she did it behind your back. Her whole plan was to steal Jane from you like she did me! She stole our daughter from both of us!"

"Theresa," Ethan said uncomfortably. "There's something upsetting I have to tell you, but it's the truth and we have to simply deal with it."

"What is it?" Theresa asked, a delicate frown marring her loveliness.

"Remember when I found out that Jane might be yours?"

"Yes, I do. You were very upset because you found out I had drugged you into making love with me. But you later admitted you knew it was me!"

"Not exactly," Ethan said. "I was drugged. I thought I was having sex with Gwen while fantasizing that I was making love to you. When I found out I had really been with you and that was what caused Nathan to be terminated, I was so upset. I contacted Leon Feldman and had him draw up adoption papers for Jane. I planned to use the surrogacy to terminate your rights and give to Jane to Gwen to make up for the child she lost. To his credit, Leon urged me to arrange for the adoption of a Russian infant right away, but I refused to even consider it!"

"You-you bastard!" Theresa exclaimed, her lips blanching and quivering in reaction. "How could you do that to me? You were planning to take Jane from me all along?!"

"Theresa, consider my state of mind," Ethan pleaded. "I was shocked and horrified. My actions with you had cost Gwen yet another one of her children? I couldn't live with myself. I was beside myself with guilt. I couldn't live with myself and I was furious with you. I-I think I lost my mind. It was like one long, never-ending nightmare I couldn't wake up from!"

Theresa nodded. She remembered that horrible time all too well.

"But that means we can never get Jane back," Theresa realized, her great big brown eyes welling with tears. "I've lost her forever!"

"Not necessarily," Ethan said, placing his hands on her shoulders. "I signed those divorce papers, because Gwen still left me in control of the law firm. I can continue with my schedule to buy out her stock until I own the company completely. She put no conditions on me about being with you. She probably figured it would be pointless for her to do so. I could never stay away from you. That means I'm free. Free to be with you. All you have to do is leave Jared and marry me!"

"How does marrying you change the fact that I am no longer Jane's mother and Gwen is?!" Theresa exclaimed, angrily pushing Ethan away.

"If you marry me, you will have access to Jane. The same amount of access I will if you are my wife," Ethan told her. "Gwen will be primary custodial parent, but that's only in the beginning. We will initially be getting Jane every other weekend, every other Thanksgiving and Christmas and half of the summer. But in time, Gwen will move on with her life and hopefully find someone new. She'll calm down. I can talk her into moving closer to Harmony so I can increase my-our access to Jane."

"So, I will only have access to my own daughter if I'm her stepmother?!" Theresa demanded incredulously.

"You have to admit, it will be far more access to Jane than it was in the past as Jane's nominal mother," Ethan pointed out.

"Do you understand or do you even care what my problem with this is?" Theresa persisted. "Jane will grow up thinking of me only as her stepmother and Gwen as her mother!"

"So, what if she does?" Ethan shrugged. "Jane is a sweet little girl. As long as you treat her lovingly and there is no doubt that you will, Jane is going to love you, too. It will be like having two mommies for her."

"Damn you, Ethan," Theresa said angrily. "Jane will not have two mommies. She will have only one. There's no tie; there's not even a consolation prize where she is concerned. It's all or nothing!"

"What do you mean by that?" Ethan asked, genuinely puzzled.

"What I mean is that I have been allowing you to put me second to Gwen where you are concerned for almost ten years, now. If I had gotten Jane back, I would have shut Gwen out of Jane's life completely. Not just because I hate that bitch, but because not even she deserves to be second with her. Nor will I do that to myself. I will not play second to my own flesh and blood. Winner takes all!"

"Theresa, do you understand what you are saying?"

"I understand exactly what I am saying. If I can't get Jane back completely as her mother; her real mother, her only mother, then I don't want her back at all. Certainly not as my stepdaughter!"

"Theresa, you are being dramatic," Ethan said. "When Jane is old enough to understand-"

"It will be too late," Theresa said curtly. "Get out, Ethan!"

"But, Theresa-"

"Get out or I will have Crane Security toss you out on your ass!" Theresa shouted.

"I'll leave," Ethan said with wounded dignity. "I can see you are too upset to talk about this right now. But think about it. Really consider it. Sometimes a half a loaf is better than none-"

"Get out!" Theresa shrieked as Ethan beat a hasty retreat out the door.

Theresa watched the closed door grimly. There was nothing to think about. She meant every word she had said. Not just for her own sake, but for Jane's sake, too.

_**"She is now being raised by another woman. A scheming, mercenary woman with no real love for her."**_

Theresa shuddered as Madam Zelda's words still reverberated with her.

To the whole world, Gwen loved Jane passionately. Couldn't care for her better than if she was her own flesh and blood. But what the world didn't know is that Gwen was delusional enough to think of Jane as her own flesh and blood. All that love would evaporate if Gwen ever had to face the truth and accept Jane as Theresa's child, not her own.

As Ethan's wife, Theresa having unfettered access to Jane, even as her stepmother would start to shake Gwen's delusion to its very core. Gwen was stubborn and spiteful. Furthermore, she loathed Theresa with every fiber of her being. Theresa could not imagine Gwen placing Jane back into her mother's loving arms even if she woke up from her delusion and stopped loving her. No, it was better for Theresa to protect Jane by fostering Gwen's delusion. That was a mother's duty, to protect her child.

"Is it safe to come down now?" Jared asked. He was on the stairwell with his hand resting on Little Ethan's shoulder. They looked like old friends now.

"I thought you and me and Ethan here would all go out for a nice family dinner, just the three of us," Jared said. "It's time I get to know my new son better."

Little Ethan brightened at this.

"Jared," he asked hesitantly. "Is it okay if I call you Dad now that you are married to my Mom?"

"I'd be honored," Jared said smiling. "In fact, if it's okay with you and Julian and your Mom, I'd like to adopt you."

"That would be great!" Little Ethan exclaimed, excited at the prospect of going back to school and having a real Daddy just like the other boys. "Mom, is it okay?"

"Sure it is," Theresa smiled with a little pain in her eyes. Hank was right. All her son ever wanted was a father and her passion for Ethan had robbed him of one.

Jared, Little Ethan and Theresa all headed out the door.

_**"This man truly cares for you. He can make you ... and your children ... happy. If you let him. But that means sacrificing your passion for the man who sired them to give them a father."**_

Again, Theresa shuddered as Madam Zelda's words haunted her.

At the time, she thought Jane would be with Jared and her, at least. But obviously Madam Zelda meant that Gwen would move on with a new man who would be a father to Jane.

It is time I do right by my children by giving them what they need rather than what I want, Theresa thought to herself. That's the only way I can live with myself.


	3. The Visitor

Jared, Theresa, and Little Ethan were about to go out to a family dinner at the Harmony Café when they were interrupted by Ethan.

"Winthrop," Jared said, clearly annoyed. "I thought you had concluded your business and left, already."

"What do you want, Ethan," Theresa asked. Inwardly, she was shouting, I told you to get out! However, Little Ethan's innocent presence restrained her. He was still fond of his "Uncle Ethan" and would only be distressed if he thought his mother was fighting with the man. So, she strove to maintain a pose of calm curiosity.

"I was about to leave when I was stopped by Gwen's father's car. He's on his way over to speak to Rebecca about Gwen," Ethan explained. "He wants to speak to me, too."

Pilar ushered in a tall, handsome, distinguished looking man about Julian's age. He had chestnut hair, piercing brown eyes and a beard that was lightly streaked with grey. Unlike Julian who had largely dissipated his good looks through drinking and debauchery, this man had taken good care of himself.

"Jared, Theresa," Ethan said. "This is Jonathan Hotchkiss. Jonathan, this is Theresa Lopez-Fitzgerald Crane Casey and her husband, Jared Casey."

The man nodded politely, in what was almost a courtly manner. Theresa was struck with the notion that in another era, he would have given a polite bow.

"I apologize for my intrusion on your family time, Mr. and Mrs. Casey," Jonathan said in his cultured Bostonian voice. "However, my ex-wife, Rebecca told me that she resides at this address and wanted to meet here. You look like you were about to leave on a family outing. Please don't change your plans to entertain me. My visit will be brief."

Jared gently urged Little Ethan toward the door and placed his hand at the small of Theresa's back to push her in the same direction. His hand reached for the doorknob.

"Jonathan is here to help us find Gwen and Jane," Ethan said loudly as Jared looked at him in exasperation.

"Have you heard anything about my daughter?" Theresa asked Jonathan.

"This is the child's biological mother?" Jonathan asked Ethan, looking at Theresa with mild surprise.

Theresa flushed at the man's reaction. Obviously he expected to meet someone blonde, like Jane.

"I am Jane's real mother," Theresa said sharply.

"I see," Jonathan said politely. "I'm sorry, Mrs. Casey. I have no news of Jane. Gwyneth hasn't been in touch with me since her last visit to Boston approximately three weeks ago. I came here with the idea that if we all joined forces we could find them easier."

Theresa's face fell at the news Jonathan Hotchkiss so courteously gave her. Still, there was a part of her that was relieved that she didn't have to deal with the same snide remarks, veiled contempt or outright rudeness that Rebecca took delight in throwing at her.

But then again, she didn't feel totally easy with him either. Often it was better to know where the threat was coming from. Jonathan remained cordial, courteous and curiously neutral to her even though it was obvious that he had heard about her. He didn't betray by word, expression or deed what he thought of her; good or bad. It was a little nerve wracking.

"Out of the way, peasant!" Everyone heard Rebecca snap at Pilar in the foyer down the hall. Then the sound of hurried high-heeled footsteps clicking to the living room. Suddenly the door burst open and there was Rebecca in all her gawdy glory.

"Oh, Jonathan!" Rebecca cried dramatically and threw herself into his arms full force. A slight grimace on his face was the only thing that marred his handsome, urbane, inscrutable face. "I am beside myself about our Gwennie!"

Pilar came in carrying a lot of shopping bags full of expensive boutique items.

"And when the going gets tough, the tough go shopping," Jonathan quipped cynically a gleam of amusement in his eyes as he gazed into Rebecca's piquant face.

"Well, I figured I would need a brand new wardrobe if we were going to search for our daughter," Rebecca explained with a shrug. "God knows where's she's taken off to in her state of mind! What circumstance she is living in! Why, I even had to do the unthinkable!"

"Oh, no," Jonathan exclaimed sarcastically. "Never tell me you were forced to shop at The Gap?!"

"How did you know?" Rebecca gasped. "It just proves that, even with a divorce, we are still on the same wavelength, Jonathan!

"I'm relieved to hear it, my dear," Jonathan said dryly.

All the sudden, Rebecca noticed Theresa standing there.

"Oh, God!" Rebecca exclaimed in disgust. "What are you doing here?"

"I live here," Theresa informed her.

"Well, go away," Rebecca said, making a shooing motion with her extravagantly manicured and jewel-decked hand. "This doesn't concern you."

"If it concerns Jane, it concerns me," Theresa said stubbornly.

Rebecca shrugged indifferently and then turned all her green-eyed attention back on Jonathan. Since taking up with Eve Russell again, Julian had been frightfully neglectful. Really, she had forgotten what a handsome man Gwen's father was!

Ignoring the wary way Jonathan raised his eyebrows, Rebecca undulated over to his side and practically pressed her voluptuous frame against his, putting her hand on his sleeve in a caressing way.

Jared grinned in amusement while Ethan grimaced with distaste. It was all too obvious what was going on. Rebecca was hoping that the payoff for Gwen's disappearance would be some comfort sex from Jonathan.

Jonathan gently but firmly disengaged himself from Rebecca's clutches to turn and face Ethan.

"You filed a missing person's report with the Harmony Police, I hope?" Jonathan asked Ethan.

"Yes, I did. Rebecca insisted on it. Luckily my sister, Fancy and Luis Lopez-

Fitzgerald were present to rush one through rather than waiting the usual twenty-four to forty-eight hours."

"Have you heard anything since Rebecca called me?"

"No, but earlier, after I saw you in the driveway, I called Harmony PD and asked them to come over with whatever they have."

As if on cue, Fancy and Luis walked through the door.

"Have you heard anything?" Rebecca asked eagerly.

"Jonathan!" Fancy exclaimed, rushing over to embrace him, as Luis looked at the handsome older man curiously.

"Luis," Ethan said. "This is Gwen's father, Jonathan Hotchkiss. Jonathan, this is Theresa's brother, Luis Lopez-Fitzgerald. He's also been a close friend to both Gwen and myself."

The two men took silent measurement of each other, apparently liked what they saw, and then shook hands.

"Well?" Rebecca barked impatiently.

"Have you heard anything about my daughter?" Theresa demanded.

"I'm sure Jane is fine," Luis told her. "You know how much Gwen loves her."

Theresa rolled her eyes at this but kept silent.

"What about my daughter?" Rebecca prompted. "Have you heard anything about her whereabouts?

"Just this. Gwen's disappearance seems to be deliberate and well-planned. She sold her car for cash in Martinsville, New Hampshire and then left the area with her daughter in a Greyhound Bus."

"Greyhound?!" Rebecca gasped in horror at how low her daughter sunk and clutching Jonathan's sleeve anxiously. "Oh, Jonathan, Gwen has lost her mind again!"

"There, there, my dear," Jonathan said, absently patting her hand. The whole time he was intently looking at and listening to Luis.

"She boarded a bus to Richmond, Virginia and debarked there, but the trail is lost after that," Luis said. "My guess is that she probably found cheap accommodations and then bought another car that has current tags for cash and is on her way to parts unknown. As I said before, this all seems very deliberate and well-planned. This is a woman who does not want to be found. You, of all people, should know how meticulous Gwen is, Mr. Hotchkiss. We won't find her unless she wants to be."

"What is she running from?" Jonathan wondered aloud.

"She's running from me," Theresa told him. "She knows I want my daughter back and is afraid I will overturn Jane's adoption."

"But she told me that Jane's mother signed over her rights to her," Jonathan said slowly. "Are you telling me that she lied to me?"

"No, she didn't," Theresa said flushing under his scrutiny. "But she didn't tell you that Ethan never gave his permission for her to adopt Jane. That's why I didn't fight it. I knew that he could overturn the adoption once he and I got back together. When Gwen left Harmony, it was under the belief that Ethan and I were reunited."

"I see," Jonathan said quietly. "But now you are married to another, so there is no reason for Gwyneth to run away."

"She doesn't know that I married Jared," Theresa said. "She left town the same night I eloped with my husband."

"So, it is safe for Gwyneth to stop hiding," Jonathan said, "Unless Ethan plans to challenge the adoption anyway?"

"I don't have any plans to initiate court action," Ethan said. "I don't intend to take Jane away from your daughter, Jonathan, but I am her father. I don't want Gwen taking Jane away from me, either. I'm hoping that we can work out an amicable arrangement where Jane is concerned."

"Good," Jonathan said, "Because if I believe otherwise, I will withdraw any help I can offer to finding Gwyneth and recovering Jane. She has lost too many children as is."

"Which brings us back to square one," Jared pointed out. "No one has a clue as to where Gwen and Jane may be."

All the sudden, Luis' cell phone's text messaging system sounded.

Luis pulled out his cell phone and looked at it.

"What's going on, Luis?" Fancy asked curiously.

"It's from Gwen," Luis said.

"Where is she? Is she all right?" Rebecca asked anxiously.

"Does she say anything about Jane?" Theresa pressed.

"All she says is that she would like to meet Hank Bennett and me at a truck stop outside Birmingham, Alabama," Luis answered frowning. "Only us."

"Well, I'm coming, too," Rebecca retorted.

"No, Rebecca," Jonathan contradicted. "You stay here and hold down the fort in case this is some kind of ruse. I'll accompany Luis and this Hank Bennett to see if I can talk her into coming home."

"Does she say anything else?" Theresa asked.

"No," Luis answered. "She kept her message very brief and to the point."

"Well, Ethan and I are coming, too," Theresa said.

"That would not be wise," Jonathan said. "If what you tell me is correct, your presence there could spook Gwyneth and make her stay away. Then she will make sure she is never found. She's not even in contact with her mother right now and they are very close. I think I should be enough of a change in plans; she knows I have always respected her wishes, whatever they may be."

"Jonathan's right," Luis told them. "He, Hank, and I will go to Birmingham to talk to Gwen and find out what is going on. We'll keep you posted as quickly as possible. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to contact Hank."

He left the room and returned a few minutes later.

"We need to stop by my place so I can throw a few things into a suitcase," Luis told Jonathan. "Then we can swing by Hank's mother's house to pick him up."

"My bags are still in my car," Jonathan responded, "So, we don't need to stop at my hotel."

Luis embraced Fancy and Jonathan suffered Rebecca's fervent embrace with wry amusement before both of them departed.

Ethan and Theresa stared at each other.

"I don't like this," Theresa told Ethan. "God knows what frame of mind Gwen is in."

"Neither do I," Ethan admitted. "But there is nothing else we can do but let Luis handle it. Remember, he and Gwen have become close friends since Rome. If anyone can get to her, he can."

_**Author's Note:** In my mind's eye, Jonathan Hotchkiss is played by Lane Davies (ex-Mason Capwell, Santa Barbara). I automatically see the same sexio-comic dynamic between Jonathan Hotchkiss and Rebecca Osborne that I did between Mason and Gina Timmons (Robin Mattson). _

_His background per my fictional reality is, as follows:_

_Jonathan had an understanding with a rich heiress, Clarissa Morton, who was also his childhood sweetheart until his path crossed that of the sexy, scheming social-climbing Rebecca Osborne (who came from a nouveau riche family). She plied him with alcohol and seduced him and they conceived Gwen. Jonathan was honorable, so he broke off his engagement to Clarissa to marry Rebecca. _


	4. A Discovery

"I hope you are comfortable, sir," Luis said awkwardly to Gwen's father as the man sat in the back of his old blue Ford Mustang coupe. Hank Bennett had offered Jonathan Hotchkiss the front passenger seat, but the man had graciously declined saying that Gwen would be spooked if she saw anyone other than Hank with Luis.

"As comfortable as can be expected under such circumstances," Jonathan answered wryly in his cultured Bostonian accent.

Luis felt rather nervous about the man riding in his old car, seeing as he had spent a lifetime being chauffeured in his limousine by various paid lackeys. Hotchkiss was not as rich as the Cranes, but the family was older and more distinguished. The Cranes had considered it a real coup and they would at last get worldwide respectability when oldest son, Ethan Crane had gotten engaged to Gwyneth Hotchkiss.

Still, the man was charming, courteous and inquisitive enough about Luis and Hank and the time on the road flew by as he asked them about their lives and their jobs. He treated them to a couple of meals on the road "as an expression of gratitude for them taking the time to help my Gwyneth." By the time they reached Birmingham, they felt like they could be considered his friends.

They pulled into the Jet Stop on a back highway near an industrial area late mid-afternoon and honored Jonathan's request to be permitted to use the men's room. Hank helped him out ask he clumsily disengaged himself from Luis' back seat. Jonathan's long legs were cramped from being tucked in the short space of the back, so he wobbled a bit before he got his bearings on the way in.

Hank got back in and Luis pulled out and parked the Mustang in the front in plain view of the highway. Several minutes later, a modest, white older model Nissan Sentra compact car pulled into the parking lot next to theirs. Both men did a double take as Gwen Hotchkiss got out. She wore a plain blue paisley tunic and stone-washed blue jeans and sneakers. Her hair was pulled back in a pony tail. She didn't have a thing on to suggest that she had come from Old Money and lots of it. Not even her sunglasses which looked like they were cheap brand name knockoffs which couldn't have cost more than five dollars, tops.

"Gwen!" Luis exclaimed. "Hank and I are here as you asked. I have to tell you that you left Harmony in a major uproar over your disappearance. I thought you promised me you would not do anything rash, like leaving town before you worked out an agreement with Ethan."

"I lied," Gwen said flatly. "I didn't want to work anything out with Ethan and Theresa where my daughter is concerned."

"Well, when we heard you'd skipped town, we figured we would never find you again. But then you called us here to Birmingham," Hank said. "What's all the mystery about?"

"Let's go inside," Gwen said, gesturing with her head towards Jet Stop's restaurant section. "We can be more private there," she continued, nervously watching the landscape as if she feared someone was observing her.

"Okay," Hank said. "Where's Jane?"

"In the car," Gwen said. "She'll be joining us, too."

She reached into the back seat and pulled Jane from her little car seat. The little girl saw Luis and smiled, dimpling prettily with the golden waves of her hair in slight disarray and her big blue eyes sparkling.

Hank was relieved to see that Jane seemed to be flourishing in view of Gwen's state of mind when she left.

They all walked into the restaurant together and headed toward a booth but were intercepted by Jonathan.

"Father!" Gwen said guilty, as Jonathan intently looked her over dressed in what she privately called "White Trash Chic." She knew by his raised eyebrows that she looked as common as dirt.

"Hello, Gwyneth," Jonathan said embracing her and kissing her on the cheek. "I see you have changed your mode of dress to something … more casual! Hello, Jane," he cooed to the baby girl who echoed sweetly. "Hellloooo."

"Why don't you join us," Gwen said, looking slightly flustered.

"I had every intentions of doing so," Jonathan said firmly.

They all sat down in the booth.

"I hope you don't mind if I call Theresa and let her know that we met up with you and her daughter is fine," Hank said.

"But that's not her daughter," Gwen corrected him.

"Look, I know you adopted Jane," Luis said gently. "But Theresa still loves her daughter and is worried sick about her since you took off."

"That's not her daughter," Gwen repeated. "At least I don't think she is. I believe she may be mine."

The three men stared at Gwen like she was totally delusional.

"Oh, don't look at me like that," Gwen said. "I haven't lost my mind. In fact I may have recovered it. That's why I need your help to prove it."

"Prove what?" Hank asked while Jonathan and Luis looked distressed.

"Prove that Ja- that the little girl with me is not Theresa's child but mine," Gwen said.

"How do you propose to do that?" Luis asked. "Gwen, Jane's maternity tests were run repeatedly at Harmony Hospital and they proved conclusively that Theresa is her mother. You have Theresa's daughter with you."

"Oh, no, I don't," Gwen said, "Or that is what I'm hoping to prove."

"You accepted the truth back then, Gwyneth," Jonathan said gently. "That's why you ultimately adopted Jane. What is making you deny the truth now?"

"Oh, I don't deny that Theresa gave birth to a baby girl who was her own biological daughter in Harmony Hospital," Gwen explained. "I just have serious doubts that Ja- that this little girl is the child she gave birth to."

"What makes you believe that?" Luis asked.

"The other day, I took Ja- my Jane to the park to play in the sandbox. There was another little girl in the sandbox. I was too busy keeping an eye on Ja- my Jane and trying to figure out what I was going to do next," Gwen explained. "Then something really weird and fantastic happened. I heard a woman calling for Jane. Ja - my Jane looked up but didn't recognize the caller, but the other little girl ran to the woman. Luis, the woman she ran to was Heather Hooper!"

"I don't see the significance of Heather Hooper," Jonathan said quietly.

"Father, Heather Hooper was the woman who Ethan and I picked to be the surrogate mother to carry my child," Gwen said. "But that little psycho troll assaulted her, and tied her up and stuffed her into the closet, so she could be implanted with my embryos, herself."

"Yes, your mother told me about that incident," Jonathan said. "But she also told me that Mrs. Hooper bowed out of being your surrogate rather than stay involved with you and Ethan and be subject to more attacks by … Miss Lopez-Fitzgerald."

"She did … initially, but I talked her into trying again … in secret," Gwen said.

"But Theresa was already carrying your embryos," Hank reminded her. "Why did you get Mrs. Hooper to carry your others?"

"Because I did not trust Theresa to give me a live child," Gwen said bitterly. "Do you remember when I wanted to cut my embryos from her body, saying I would rather see them in the belly of a snake than carried by Theresa? I knew, in my heart of hearts, that Theresa's womb would be my baby's tomb and I was right!"

"But didn't Mrs. Hopper tell you that your embryos didn't take, because your eggs weren't viable?" Luis reminded Gwen.

"She did. Both she and the doctor said my eggs weren't viable, but Theresa had no trouble conceiving Nathan," Gwen commented. "Remember, Nathan wasn't miscarried because he didn't 'take' in Theresa. Her womb was too small for them both, so he was aborted to make room for her child. I think Heather and the doctor lied about my embryo not taking."

"Why would they do that?" Jonathan asked.

"Because Alistair Crane ordered them to," Gwen answered. "He was very interested in the custody fight over Jane."

"He wanted control of Julian's son, Little Ethan," Luis theorized. "That's why he married Theresa. She thought it was for him to help her get Jane back so she could then make Ethan leave Gwen, but he tricked her into signing over Little Ethan to him in their marriage papers. He had no intentions of going after Jane or he would have done so."

"Are you sure that this isn't Mrs. Hooper's daughter by her husband?" Jonathan asked Gwen.

"I'm sure, Father," Gwen said. "This little girl looks to be the exact same age as Ja- my Jane. There would be no way that Heather could have gotten pregnant by her husband during that time. She was completely in the hands of the surrogacy program and was not having sex with him until after it was sure the implantation was a success. Moreover, I didn't get a close look at that little girl, that … Jane … Heather was calling, but she looked Hispanic. Heather is white, married to a white man."

"So when do you think the substitution of your daughter for Theresa's daughter was made?" Hank asked curiously.

"I'm not sure," Gwen said. "All I know is that the child that was taken from Harmony was not the same one who was returned."

"There's one way to find out," Hank said. "We could take Jane's footprint and compare it to the one in her hospital records. I'll call Ethan and ask him to have Jane's hospital records faxed to Birmingham."

"I-I was wondering if you could help me prove that Ja- that this child here is mine."

"That's simple," Hank told her. "I could take some samples from you and Jane here and have them messenger overnight to the lab at the FBI building where I work. Better yet, there is a FBI Lab here in Birmingham. We could have those results the same day."

"Did you confront this Heather Hooper?" Jonathan asked Gwen.

"Oh, hell, no!" Gwen explained. "If Alistair has her on his payroll, she'd only run away with the other little girl. I did my best not to call her attention to myself and Ja-my daughter. Then I followed her from a safe distance in my car to the house she lives in. I figured I could confront her when I had Harmony PD and the FBI to back me up after I proved that Ja-the little girl I have in my custody is mine, not Theresa's!"

"God, I hope you're right," Luis said fervently, thinking that this would be the best way to resolve the tug of love over Jane. If there were two little girls, each with her own mother.

"In my heart, I know I'm right," Gwen said. "I've always felt it. From the first moment I laid eyes on her and held her in my arms. She's mine. I think even Theresa sensed it or she would have never given up on Ja-this little girl so easily. On some level, she had to have known, too!"

"Well, there's only one way to find out," Hank said cheerfully.

"Where are you going?" Gwen asked him suspiciously as he made to walk outside.

"I'm going to call Ethan to have those medical records faxed," Hank said diffidently. "The only way you and Theresa will both have your daughters is if we get this party started!"

Theresa came to the living room as Ethan paced the floor abstractedly. Over Jared's muted objections, Theresa had Ethan staying in the Crane Mansion until they found out something definitive about Jane.

Suddenly Ethan's cell phone rang and a hovering Theresa just knew who it was and what it was about."

"That's Hank, isn't it?" Theresa demanded which prompted Ethan to give her a curt nod.

"Has he found Gwen? Is Jane all right?" Theresa persisted, interrupting his conversation with Hank.

"Yes, Theresa," Ethan answered. "Hank has seen both of them and they are both all right."

"What does he want then?" Theresa asked.

"He wants me to have Harmony Hospital fax him Jane's medical records."

"If Jane isn't sick, why would he need them?" Theresa asked anxiously.

"I don't know, Theresa," Ethan said soothingly. "He just says that Gwen is requesting them and would like them as soon as possible."

"But that must mean she has no intentions of returning to Harmony with Jane," Theresa fretted. "Maybe we should refuse to cooperate. That way she'd be forced to come back and get them herself!"

"I-I don't want Jane to get seriously ill and possibly die during a game of 'chicken' with Gwen," Ethan commented. "We already lost Sarah and Nathan over that. Do we want to jeopardize Jane, too?"

"No," Theresa responded quickly, looking crestfallen.

"Besides, this is an excellent way to show Gwen our good faith where Jane is concerned," Ethan reasoned. "She'll eventually calm down and relax by the time she has to return to Harmony for court date and she'll be more reasonable about Jane by then."

"I hope you are right," Theresa relented. "Because with our daughter's medical records in her hot little hands, Gwen will be a free agent when it comes to determining Jane's fate. Knowing Gwen like I do, she will do everything imaginable to keep that little girl to herself!"


	5. Validation

The three men followed Gwen to her modest digs further out in the country. They pulled into an old, clean, well-maintained motel court called the Bluebell Country Inn which contained a bunch of wood framed kitchenettes designed to look like white country cottages with blue trim. Other than that, there were no amenities. There was a modest little laundry room in one corner with an ice machine and vending machines on the porch. There had once been a kidney-shaped pool, but the owners had filled it in and artfully made it into a cheerful flower garden with beautifully colored rocks marking its outline, and putting some park benches on either side. Luckily, there were several vacancies available, so Jonathan went to the office and ordered up accommodations for the rest of them.

The very next morning everyone promptly debarked to the FBI office in Birmingham, Alabama, where they all followed Hank into a lab, with Gwen holding Jane. There, they were met by technicians who took cheek swabs and hair samples from both woman and child and took them off to another part of the lab for DNA testing. Hank also scanned the tiny footprints that was in the hospital records that Ethan and Theresa faxed to him. Then, he took a scan of Jane's footprints as Gwen steadied her and told her to hold still as another technician sat at the console waiting for the information to form on screen.

Everyone collectively held their breaths as the computer sized the different set of footprints. Gwen stared anxiously at the screen as the computer did its calculations. To her untrained eye, they looked too similar. Both Luis and Hank were crouched on either side of the technician, staring at the screen intently while Gwen finally closed her eyes and prayed harder than she ever had in her life for validation.

"Well, look at that," the FBI technician said. Gwen opened her eyes and looked at the screen only to see that the computer had arrows pointing out at several different parts of the two sets of footprints. She stared at the screen blankly. Everything looked confusing. She thought she saw differences, but she had no idea if she was projecting or not.

Hank and Luis looked at each other and grinned broadly.

"Do you know what that means?" Hank asked Gwen.

"No," she whispered her mouth suddenly dry.

Then Luis said the most beautiful words Gwen thought she ever heard in her life.

"It means no match, Gwen," Luis said, his great dark eyes glowing and his smile joyful.

"No match?" She echoed, tears of gratitude starting in her eyes.

"No match," Hank repeated. "There is no way these two sets of footprints belong to the same child."

Gwen looked at Jonathan as he sagged in relief, but Gwen still could not relax.

"So, she's not Theresa's daughter, thank God," Gwen said doubtfully. "But-"

"Stop borrowing trouble, Gwyneth," Jonathan said. "She's your child, she even looks like you."

"I-I think she's got Ethan's eyes, don't you?" Gwen asked hopefully.

"She's your daughter, too, Gwen," Luis said firmly. "All we need now are the DNA tests to confirm it."

"I had a rush put on them, so it shouldn't be long now," Hank said. "Why don't we all go out and get something to eat while we are waiting?"

"I'm sorry, you can go," Gwen said. "But I don't want to budge from this lab until I find out if Ja-this child is mine. I don't want to let those samples they are working on over there out of my sight. Too much tampering has been done with my relationship to Ja- my baby as it is!"

"I'll stay with Gwyneth to support her," Jonathan said.

"We'll all stay," Luis said. "I agree with Gwen. Too much is riding on this not to keep a close eye on the process every step of the way!"

"Well, then that makes it unanimous," Hank laughed. "I don't want to miss out on anything either."

The only one who ate anything remotely resembling lunch that day was Jane who snacked on some treats another lab technician had brought to her. The other men got some nuts and chips from the vending machine. Gwen couldn't have eaten a bite if she tried.

After what seemed like an eternity, the lab technician they all had their eyes fixated on walked over with a sealed envelope and handed it to Hank who slowly opened it and studied it.

"Well?" Jonathan snapped. "What are the results? Don't keep us waiting sir!"

Gwen could say nothing; she could only stand there pleading with her eyes for the answer she hoped to hear.

Then Hank said the words she'd been holding her breath for.

"The mitochondrial DNA matches. Jane is your biological daughter, Gwen."

"Oh, thank God!" Luis exclaimed, loudly exhaling in relief.

"Amen," Jonathan agreed fervently.

Gwen handed Jane to Jonathan and hugged Hank.

"Thank you!" Gwen exclaimed gratefully. Then she did the same with Luis.

Jonathan gathered Gwen into his free arm.

"Congratulations, Gwyneth, dear," Jonathan murmured to Gwen as she hugged him.

"I knew it!" She exulted. "But I still can't believe that this is happening! That I finally found proof that Ja-this child is mine!"

"Well, here it is, dear daughter. Validation."

Validation. After how many months and months and months of everyone viewing Gwen's attachment to this child due to instability and insanity. Validation. At last.

She was startled out of her reverie by Hank's voice.

"Well, now we have proof that you've had your daughter all along, Gwen. And with that proof we also have proof that Theresa's daughter was taken without her consent. I need the address you followed Heather Hooper to so I can get a custody order sworn out and a warrant for her arrest."

"You're arresting her?" Gwen asked in surprise. "How do you know that Alistair didn't switch the little girls without her knowledge?"

"Either way she held on to a kid she wasn't supposed to," Hank answered. "Didn't she sign a legal and binding custody agreement with you and Ethan that she would turn any child she produced over to you?"

"But if Alistair forced her-"

"Then we need the leverage of an arrest warrant to loosen her tongue and make her cooperate, so that both babies are back with their mothers."

Gwen hesitated. Now that she had proven that her daughter was her own flesh and blood, there was a part of her that strongly wanted to withhold that information. It galled her no end that when she lost, Theresa won, but now that she had won, it seemed Theresa had won, too. It was so unfair! She wrestled with the temptation to tell Hank she had lost Heathers address in the excitement and wasn't sure exactly what part of Birmingham she was in. After all, this was a huge city where one could easily get lost.

"Did you hear me Gwen?" Hank prompted, looking at her sternly as if he had divined her thoughts. She knew he wouldn't believe any lies she told him and would probably charge her with obstructing justice and impeding an investigation unless she was honest with him.

"I followed her to 130 Chestnut Street, in Birmingham, Alabama, proper," Gwen told him reluctantly. "Frankly, I was surprised. It is a shabby, working class neighborhood. Though Alistair isn't above threatening people to comply with him and carrying through on them, he also rewards anyone who does a good job. I can't figure out why she is living that way when she has custody of a child Alistair placed in her care."

"Well, we'll get to the bottom of her living circumstances when we meet up with her," Hank said, scribbling down the address. "Now, if you'll excuse me, the sooner I can get this paperwork processed the better. We want to have the element of surprise when we confront Heather Hooper. Otherwise, she just might take off with Theresa's daughter and we'll never see her again!"

"Thank you, Gwen," Luis told her.

"For what?" Gwen asked. "I was strongly tempted to play dumb about where Theresa's child is. It was only the certainty that Hank would make me pay for it that stopped me."

"I know you were tempted to 'forget' where Theresa's daughter is," Luis said. "And you could have made Hank go through hoops trying to find her while you tipped Heather off that we were on to her. But you didn't. No one appreciates this more than I do, because I, more than anyone else, know exactly how you feel about my sister. So, again, thank you."

"I'm proud of you, too, daughter," Jonathan remarked. "Though I confess that I credit your mother's absence for this rare display of common sense on your part where this young woman is concerned. She doesn't have to lose for you to win. God has restored your child to you with the further blessing that she has been thriving in your care all along. This other young woman doesn't have that thought to comfort her. Her child has been raised by strangers. She will never know how they affected her child. Let that be justice enough, Gwyneth."

"You're right, Father," Gwen commented, seeing the wisdom of his observation. She had had her daughter all along. She knew she had been loved and well taken care of. She almost felt sorry for Theresa. Almost.

"Well, are you ready to take your daughter and go back to Boston with me, my dear?"

"Not until I know that Jane - the other Jane is - I mean, that Ethan's other daughter is safe," Gwen stammered, inwardly wondering how she was going to get her daughter used to the name she had intended to give her; Ashley Rebecca, instead of the one she was used to answering to.

"Well, I suppose one more night at the Bluebonnet Country Inn won't kill us," Jonathan quipped. "Though I suspect your mother will kill me for allowing her daughter and grandchild to live in such a dive!"

Gwen laughed at this.

"First, we'll have to get her over the trauma of being a grandmother. Do you know that she never allowed Ja- my daughter to call her grandma or granny, saying that was not her flesh and blood, so she didn't have the right!"

"Oh?" Jonathan asked curiously. "What did she have the child call her?"

"Aunt Becky," Gwen answered. "She said she was too young to be my mother and everyone thinks we're sisters Though Ja- she could only call her 'Am.'"

"Your mother was a child bride, you know," Jonathan snarked.

"I know," Gwen said, sotto voce.

"I got the paperwork processed," Hank said, as he came into the room. "Are you ready, Dude?" Hank asked Luis.

"Ready, Bro," Luis answered. "We'll see you guys later. Hopefully with your daughter's sister along with us."

"Hopefully," Gwen said unenthusiastically, with a tight smile on her face. She had no desire to set eyes on that little girl ever. With this little blonde girl in her arms, it was easy to forget that, to make Jane possible, Nathan had to die. With that little dark haired girl, it would be impossible to forget. Or forgive. Ever.

Gwen hoped that Theresa would want to claim her child right away rather than wait. That Theresa would make them take Jane back to Harmony right away so Gwen would not have to deal with her. But she kept her thoughts to herself, feeling rather ashamed of how small, mean and petty she felt. Not after all Hank had done to restore her daughter to her. Not with Luis around.

Aloud she said, "I just thought that Ethan and Theresa would want to bond with their daughter as quickly as possible before my divorce goes through and they are married."

"But Theresa is married-" Hank started to say.

"Theresa may be still technically married to Alistair," Jonathan interrupted Hank. "After all, he left no body during that accident. Not that I think he survived. Still the legalities must be observed. She must make sure he is declared legally dead before she can remarry. So you see, Gwyneth, your pending divorce is not the only obstacle."

"I see," Gwen said, reflecting on this. "Well, if you'll excuse me, I need to go to the ladies' room to refresh myself and change Ja- my daughter. I'll be back in a few minutes."

"Why did you keep me from telling Gwen that Theresa married Jared?" Hank asked Jonathan curiously.

"Because then Gwyneth would be tempted to work things out with Ethan again and that's the last thing I want," Jonathan said bluntly. "You saw her face when you talked about recovering this other woman's daughter. Especially now that she has a daughter of her own by Ethan. I want her to believe the jig is up where he is concerned and she has lost him forever, so she can move on to a more productive life."

"But Theresa is married to Jared," Hank repeated.

"She won't be for long now that she's getting their daughter back," Jonathan remarked. "Especially if Gwyneth goes back to Ethan, starting their rivalry up all over again. I don't know about you, sir, but I want this insane, self destructive competition she shares with your sister over that man to end!"

"What about you, Luis?" Hank asked. "You're Gwen's close friend. Do you agree?"

"I sure do," Luis answered grimly. "Let's keep Jared and Theresa's marriage to ourselves. Hopefully, by the time Gwen finds out, she'll be too happy living with her daughter in Boston to give a rat's ass about Ethan!"


	6. Baby Jane

"That's a bad area," commented a police officer who was chosen to accompany Luis and Hank to Chestnut Street. "Gone to hell in a hand basket. Big-time prostitution, gangs, and drug-dealing. Real bad methamphetamine problem over there. A little girl got killed at that address yesterday during a gangland shooting."

Hank and Luis looked at each other, distraught. Were they too late? Was Theresa's daughter dead?

"Are you sure?" Luis asked dry-mouthed.

"If the address is 130 Chestnut Street, I am," the cop answered. "I was working off-duty at the hospital when they brought the little girl in. They did everything they could to save her, but she's in the morgue now."

"May we see her?" Hank demanded.

"Suit yourselves. I'll take you to the morgue, but I'll wait outside. The one thing I hate when I go to the morgue is the sight of dead children."

The two men slowly walked, with dragging steps into the morgue and asked to view the body of the little girl that was shot dead the other night. Through the viewing window, they saw a pretty little Hispanic girl laid out on the table, looking like she was asleep.

"I don't know why anyone else wants to view the child," they heard a morgue attendant comment, as he came out to see them. "She's already been identified and is ready to be claimed by her parents."

"Heather and James Hooper are on their way here?" Hank asked.

"Hooper?" The morgue attendant echoed stupidly. "I don't know of any parents named Hooper!"

"Isn't this child named Jane Hooper?"

"No," the morgue attendant answered. "She's been identified as Flor Martinez."

"But she was killed at 130 Chestnut Street?!"

"Nope, that was a typo error. Her address was 138 Chestnut Street."

Both Luis and Hank were filled with sadness and relief. Sadness for Flor's parents, but relief for Jane's.

They walked out of the morgue to the police car that awaited them.

"We still need to execute this warrant," Hank told him. "That is not the child we are looking for."

Luis and Hank drove to 130 Chestnut Street, Birmingham, Alabama, with the local police as back up to enforce the federal warrant for arrest of Heather Hooper for child abduction and kidnapping. Gwen had not lied when she described the Hooper's neighborhood as shabby and working class. In fact, she had been too kind. Chestnut Street was already in the process of surrendering to total wrack and ruin. The houses were old and weathered, the fencing around the yards were ramshackle and not maintained. There were several old rusted car set up on blocks here and there. Gang graffiti was spray-painted everywhere. Diverse persons of all ages; black, white and latino, walked here and there or sat sullenly on their porches, watching the traffic with hostile disinterest. But poverty and crime united them all against the city authorities, who they felt, neglected their neighborhood in favor of the wealthy suburbs.

The house at 130 Chestnut Street was a grim, dilapidated, weathered grey clapboard house that had once been white. It sat on a small plot that was filled more with overgrown weeds than grass. It looked totally abandoned and ready to be condemned if not for a couple of old, but still functional wrecks parked in front and the muted activity they heard inside.

"I recognize this place," the cop who escorted them said grimly. "There's been a whole lot of domestic disturbances going on here. Been called out practically every other weekend on those two."

"What do you mean?" Luis asked curiously.

"Payday," The cop answered. "That old boy uses a lot of the money to buy beer and cocaine, then he gets mean as a snake and slaps the little woman around."

"What about the little girl?" Luis demanded anxiously.

"She's a sweet, shy, pretty little thing. Quiet, too." The cop said. "Haven't seen a bruise on her yet and believe me I've been … we've all been looking. Either her mom is good at protecting her or she knows how to make herself quiet and scarce when her old man is on a bender."

"Or she's been damned lucky so far." Hank said grimly. "We need to get her the hell out of here as soon as possible!"

"The sooner, the better!" Luis agreed fervently.

All three men advanced towards the front porch as quietly as they could, crunching the broken glass on the sidewalk leading towards it. When they got there, the cop knocked loudly on the locked screen door.

A woman opened the front door and looked at them through the screen door with the same sullen hostility that the other residents of Chestnut Street emanated towards them.

Luis was shocked at the sight of her. He had remembered her as an attractive woman in her mid-twenties. But poverty, bitterness, and an abusive environment had prematurely aged her. She looked about a decade older.

"What do you want?" Heather demanded. "I didn't call you. There's no problem here, today."

"I'm afraid there is, Mrs. Hooper." The cop said brusquely. "Please open the screen door and step out onto the porch, ma'am."

The woman reluctantly complied.

"Is this about that speeding ticket?" Heather asked. "I made arrangements to take defensive driving classes and then go on the payment installment plan!"

"No, ma'am." Hank said, stepping forward. "Heather Hooper, you are under arrest for the abduction and kidnapping of the minor child, Jane Pilar Lopez-Fitzgerald Winthrop from Harmony-"

"James! James!" Heather yelped in alarm.

All the sudden, they heard a young child cry out, the back door burst open, and the sounds of footsteps running away from the house.

"Cuff her!" Luis ordered the cop who proceeded to pull a struggling, cursing Heather's wrists behind her back to secure them.

"You go that way, I'll go this way," Hank yelled at Luis who nodded, and took off, running in the opposite direction he did towards the back.

It was Luis who caught up with James Hooper first. Luis could not see the child's face, but the man was clutching a black-haired girl to him. A curiously quiet little girl. She was conscious, but was limp in his arms.

"Stop!" Luis ordered.

"Back off!" Hooper warned. "Or someone's gonna get hurt!"

"I'll back off," Luis said, "But all I want is the baby. Just put her down and you can take off!"

"No way am I putting down this little cash cow," Hooper grinned at Luis. "Now, back off!"

"What do you think you are going to gain by taking off with that baby?" Luis asked Hooper. "We all know about her, now. You can't keep her existence a secret anymore."

"A payoff," Hooper answered bluntly. "She's got a rich mommy and daddy who will pay top dollar to get her back now that they know about her."

Out of the corner of his eye, Luis saw Hank sneaking up on James Hooper.

"Look, her parents will reward you … handsomely … if you give her up without extorting them." Luis promised. "They will be so grateful … this will be a bonanza for you, man!"

"Not as much as they would if they have to bargain to get her back!" Hooper retorted.

"You'd never be allowed to spend it," Luis reasoned. "Because you'd spend many years of your life rotting in prison. If something happens to that baby while you are bargaining with her parents, you'll end up on death row for a capital offense."

"You think I trust you?" Hooper sneered. "I heard you on the front porch arresting my old lady for kidnapping! I'm out of here and so is this little brat-"

All the sudden, Hank grabbed him from behind, but James Hooper fought him off like a tiger. As they struggled, Hooper let Jane fall to the ground. Luis quickly swooped in and gathered the tiny girl into his arms. She whimpered and clung to him tightly but did not wail like most children would though he could feel her tears staining his shoulder.

They both started at the sound of a gunshot discharging.

"Hank!" Luis bellowed in fear as both men froze in their struggle.

"I'm all right!" Hank said shakily as an amazed James Hooper with blood staining his chest, slid to the ground, dead.

"Come on, baby," Luis soothed Jane. "Let's get you out of here. You're going home to your real mommy and daddy."

"That's right, sweetheart," Hank said softly. "You're safe now."

The baby girl raised her dark head, twisting in Luis' arms to look at Hank.

"Well, I'll be damned," Hank said with a grin. "I know that little face!"

Luis looked down at Jane and smiled at the child sweetly as big blue eyes surrounded by thick lush black eyelashes stared back. Her dark hair was matted and slightly dirty from neglect, but with proper care and brushing, it would shine like ebony stone with blue highlights. Her clothes were an old dull pastel blue, but with more vivid colors to set her off, she'd look like a little jewel.

"I see Ethan in her, too, but she reminds me so much of her mother at that age!" Luis exclaimed.

The police officer was standing by the police car waiting for them. Inside the back seat, a sullen Heather Hooper was staring out the window and loudly sobbing with angry, despairing tears streaming down her face.

"We heard the gunshot," The officer commented. "Where's Hooper? Is he dead?"

"Yes, he is," Hank told him. "He grabbed my gun when I grabbed him. We struggled for it and it went off. Luis Lopez-Fitzgerald, here, witnessed it."

"I did," Luis said. "And what he said is exactly what happened."

"That may be true," drawled the officer, "But there still has to be an investigation."

"I know," sighed Hank.

"Unfortunately, that means that Mr. Bennett, here, will have to stay to be tested for powder burns and go through a review from his local office. But Mr. Lopez-Fitzgerald can leave with the little girl after he gives us a written statement." The cop said regretfully. "I'll radio headquarters so they have the M.E. send out a wagon for Hooper and a team to tape off the place until the investigation is finished."

"That bites, Hank," Luis said sympathetically. "I know how much you were looking forward to seeing Theresa's face when she came face to face with her own flesh and blood daughter for the first time since she was born."

"Yeah, but Hooper had to be an asshole about it," Hank grumbled. "So, here we are! Well, I'll catch up with Theresa, later. I imagine the only thing she wants anyway is to catch up as much time as she can with Baby Jane, here."

"It's too bad he had to be so damned greedy," Luis remarked in disbelief. "Ethan and Theresa would have rewarded the Hoopers handsomely if they turned Jane over to them without a fuss. They both could have raised their standard of living considerably."

"Not bloody likely!" Hank retorted in disgust. "I remember Gwen saying that Alistair Crane pays his flunkies very well for doing what he wants. He had to pay the Hoopers a fortune to take care of Jane and maintain themselves in great style. Yet we find them here, of all places. They obviously put it all up their noses in record time. They'd blow through any money Ethan and Theresa gave them in no time flat!"

"Yes, but we still need Heather Hooper's cooperation to wrap up the issue of Gwen and Theresa's daughters and put it to rest for good," Luis answered. "Heather never formally surrendered Gwen's daughter after she gave birth to her. There's nothing to keep her from trying to hold Gwen up for money by challenging her for custody of her daughter. I know Gwen would win eventually, seeing what conditions we found Theresa's daughter in. But I still don't want to put her through another custody battle … again. If she sees a payoff by cooperating with us by filling in the blanks about these two little girls and signing off on Gwen's daughter, she'll do it. Otherwise, she has nothing to lose now by making as much trouble as possible."

"When you're right, you're right," Hank said. "Though it galls me to give this bitch anything more with the way she treated Jane." He turned to the officer who had just finished radioing headquarters. "I'd like to talk to Mrs. Hooper. Can my partner and I sit in your car while you are waiting for your team to show up?"

"Sure." The officer said with a nod, before he went to the back yard to view the carnage left behind.

Hank got into the driver's seat while Luis, holding Jane, joined him in the passenger's seat. Heather stopped bawling long enough to glare at them.

"That old man made us take her." Heather snarled. "We didn't volunteer for this."

"We believe you," Luis said. "If you cooperate."

"What do I get out of the deal except a shortened sentence?" Heather snapped.

"You'll get a big, fat payoff," Hank smirked as her eyes gleamed greedily. "And a chance to keep it to yourself without worrying that the loser you hooked up with will put it all up his nose!"

"I also want no jail time," Heather said.

"That depends on two things," Luis said. "What you give us about Alistair Crane and you signing off any claim to Gwyneth Winthrop's daughter."

"What?!" Heather exclaimed. "I never wanted that brat anymore than I wanted this one. If I had wanted children, I wouldn't have put my own brat up for adoption! I only got into this surrogacy thing for the money. I figured a rich couple like the Winthrops would pay well for a kid. Mrs. Winthrop still owes me for that, by the way!"

"I'm sure she will pay you what was agreed," Luis promised.

"Then I took care of that other brat out of my own pocket all this time," Heather whined, ready to go for the gold.

"I'm sure Alistair Crane's rich widow will grease your sweaty little palms well for your trouble," Hank said cynically. "Well, is it a deal?"

"It's a deal," Heather sat back with a smile, her grief over James completely forgotten.

The men both withdrew from the car, filled with distaste for the woman By then, the medical examiner's wagon had arrived and was loading the back with James Hooper's body. The team took their statements and tested Hank's hands and clothing for powder burns while Luis called Jonathan to let him know they had Jane safe and sound and what had happened. The team then told them both they were free to leave the site, but Hank had to stay in Birmingham until the investigation was over.

"Hank, Jonathan suggested I leave my car with you, so you could drive back to Boston when the investigation is over with." Luis told Hank. "He is going to post Heather's bail and then he suggests that Heather, Jane and I fly with Gwen, her daughter and him to Boston. He figures there Heather can sign off on Gwen's daughter and Ethan can pick up Jane. Hopefully, with Heather's full cooperation, the charges can be dropped and this can be wrapped up as soon as possible."

"Sounds like a good idea," Hank replied. "Sweet Baby Jane, before you know it, you will be home!"

"Home!" Jane echoed sweetly as the two men smiled. "It was the first word they heard her say since they found her.


	7. Darling Jenny

While Hank was pulling Jane's car seat out of the back seat of the old wreck that Heather Hooper drove in order to transfer it to the back of his Ford Mustang coupe, Luis decided to call Gwen to let her know he had found Theresa's real daughter. Gwen had once confessed to him that she was always holding her breath in dread, waiting for the other shoe to drop where Theresa was concerned, because it usually ended up landing on her head. Well, this was the perfect way of reassuring her that she never had to worry about losing the child she had raised with such care and devotion. Finding Theresa's daughter should only underscore that no one else could lay claim to Gwen's child.

"Gwen, I don't know if Jonathan has spoken to you yet. I already called him to let him know we found Theresa's daughter," Luis informed her. "We had quite a scare, because the police initially told us a little girl her age had been shot and killed at her address. Luckily for us, the house number turned out to be a typo error. She's alive and well, considering her circumstances," Luis told Gwen. "Once we secure her baby seat in the back of my car, we will be heading over there."

"That's great, Luis," Gwen said numbly. "I'll be expecting you, then."

Luis looked down into the big blue eyes of the child who stared back at him solemnly.

"I'm taking you home to meet your real mommy," Luis told the little girl.

"Mommy," Jane repeated.

Gwen sat down shakily after getting off the phone with Luis. So, he and Hank had found Jane. The real Jane Pilar Lopez-Fitzgerald Winthrop. She looked at her daughter who was sitting on the floor of her kitchenette, playing with some toys.

"Ashley! Come here, baby! Come to Mommy!" Gwen called and inwardly sighed with exasperation at her daughter's reaction. "Damn it!"

This had been going on since yesterday afternoon. Once she had found out for sure that the little girl in her custody was, in fact, her own flesh and blood daughter, and not Theresa's, Gwen had wasted no time in calling her by the name she had intended to give her. But all she was rewarded with was her child's bafflement and fright at the name her mommy was suddenly calling her.

The little blonde girl looked distressed, her lower lip quivered slightly, and her pretty blue eyes threatened to spill over with tears.

"There, there, Janie, Mommy loves you, very much," Gwen quickly assured her, picking her up and cuddling her. Hearing the name her mother gave her when she was sick or crying, the little girl calmed down. Then went back to playing happily, leaving Gwen to brood some more for several minutes, trying to figure out how she was going to get her daughter used to a new name.

Knock-knock-knock-knock-knock. Pause. Knock-knock.

Gwen opened the door and there were Hank and Luis with broad grins on their faces. In his arms, Luis was holding a black-haired little girl with pale, olive skin and Ashley - no - Ethan's eyes. Both girls have their father's eyes, Gwen thought abstractedly, as she stared into the wide blue, black lashed orbs staring back at her solemnly.

Luis strode over to Gwen's daughter and set Theresa's daughter by her.

"This is your sister, Honey," Luis said to both girls as Gwen involuntarily winced.

Then she was struck by the child's raggedy appearance and was appalled.

"She looks like a homeless little orphan," Gwen remarked, wondering just what kind of care Heather Hooper had given Jane. "Her clothes are filthy and she doesn't look like she has had her hair combed in ages. Did she get into something?"

"Just into a bad living situation," Hank commented.

"She also needs a bath," Luis said. "Frankly, she almost reeks. Gwen, would you mind doing the honors? I don't know how she'd take to a strange man bathing her. It might go better for her with a female."

"Okay, I will," Gwen replied. "But promise me you will burn her clothes. God only knows what kind of vermin they're crawling with. I'll put one of Ja-my daughter's outfits on her. They look to be the same size. In fact, I have a brand new outfit I was going to take back to the store, because outside of the store lighting, it seemed a little too intense for her complexion. But I think it will go well with this little girl's coloring."

"Noooo!" Gwen heard her daughter exclaim. "Mine!"

Gwen frowned delicately. The two girls were engaged in a tug of war over her daughter's favorite stuffed toy. A well-worn and much beloved lion cub. Gwen found herself wondering what kind of sibling rivalry they would engage in, having to share a father?

Gwen gently but firmly disengaged the toy from Theresa's daughter's grasp and picked the little girl up.

"I see that Theresa's daughter plays nicely with others," Gwen quipped sarcastically.

"She's just being a little kid," Luis said apologetically. "I come from a large family and I can tell you that at every reunion, one kid would pick up a toy and they all would want it even if the room was filled with other toys."

"I'm an only child, so I'll take your word for it," Gwen said dryly. "In any case, it's time for you to take a bath, young lady! Peeeeew!"

Gwen deftly but quickly stripped Jane of her filthy clothes and threw them across the bathroom, her nose wrinkling in distaste. How could anyone let a child get so filthy? She took some tearless baby soap, shampoo and conditioner out of the linen closet and drew a tepidly warm bath then put the naked child in the tub.

Jane gave a little sigh of pleasure as she felt the warm water cascade over her little body. She eyed Gwen with a little alarm when Gwen took a large cup of the warm water running from the faucet and gently poured it over her head, avoiding her face as much as possible. Gwen then proceeded to shampoo Jane's hair scrubbing her scalp firmly to loosen the grime, relieved that there was no lice. She then soaped the child's body and washed her face and neck. Then she rinsed the child off, adding conditioner to the clean, wet tangles of her hair. Taking a wide toothed comb, she proceeded to detangle Jane's hair, working from the ends up. Then she took a thin-toothed comb and repeated the action. Satisfied she had gotten all the knots out, she rinsed out the child's hair again. Then she wrapped Jane's head and body in towels, set her up on a counter and clipped her fingernails and toenails, using an emery board to file down any ragged edges.

Since it was late, Gwen put the child in one of her own daughter's other nightgowns, which was a light blue and blew dry her hair. Once Jane's midnight black hair was dry, Gwen brushed it.. Jane submitted to Gwen's ministrations silently and docilely, studying her out of her big blue eyes. Finally Gwen heard her speak her first word since arriving.

"Mommy?" Jane asked, as Gwen stiffened. To her own ears there was such a hopeful note in the child's voice.

"No," Gwen said tersely, indicating herself and speaking clearly but succinctly. "Gwen."

"Gah-wen." Jane repeated.

"You'll see your mommy later," Gwen told her, then carried her out of the bathroom where Hank and Luis were playing with her daughter.

"Wow," Hank said. "Jane looks like a little princess."

"Pwincess!" Gwen's daughter echoed excitedly. With a certain amount of sadness, Gwen knew that her little girl thought Hank was talking about herself.

"Come on, Janie," Gwen said to her daughter, "It's your turn, now."

She gently undressed her daughter and repeated the same ministrations she had performed on Theresa's, except she put her in a pale pink gown.

"Janie also looks like a little princess, now," Gwen told Hank and Luis. "Jane is the blue princess and Janie is the pink princess."

"She sure does," Luis smiled at the little blonde girl sweetly.

Gwen put her daughter down and she quickly grabbed her toy lion and cuddled it as Theresa's daughter looked at the toy longingly.

"Hank, would you mind watching the girls for a little bit while Luis and I go to the Wal-Mart?" Gwen asked Hank.

"Sure," Hank answered easily. "I'd welcome the company of these lovely little ladies."

Gwen started her car as Luis hopped into the passenger side and they headed towards the Wal-Mart.

"Thank you for being so good to my niece," Luis told Gwen. "I know how you feel about her mother and you couldn't have taken better care of that little girl if she was your own daughter."

"I cannot believe the condition that child was in," Gwen said. "By the layers of grime I scrubbed off of her in the tub, I suspect Heather Hooper neglected her as much as possible."

"I think so, too," Luis grimaced. "Thank you for taking such good care of Jane, Gwen. I can't imagine what her mother's reaction would have been seeing her in the condition we found her in."

"As a mother myself, I know what it would be," Gwen answered grimly. "I'd want to rip Heather Hooper's lungs out. So, this is my way of thanking … God, I suppose. For there, but for the grace of God would be my daughter, not Theresa's."

They pulled into the parking lot of the Wal-Mart and entered the store.

"So what are we shopping for?" Luis asked Gwen. He couldn't figure out why she was doing this last minute shopping seeing as they were going to leave for Boston as soon as Heather Hooper's bail was posted.

"A stuffed toy for Jane," Gwen answered. "She likes Ja-my daughter's toy lion. I was hoping I could find something similar for her to cuddle, but something of her very own. I thought you'd like to help me. I want to find a toy with the sweetest eyes. That's how I settled on Ja-my child's toy."

Luis and Gwen entered the toy department and carefully looked at the stuffed animals on display, checking the softness of the toy and the expression of its eyes.

"Look at that one, Gwen," Luis said, pointing to a black and white Dalmatian puppy with great big, soulful eyes.

"That looks perfect," Gwen said. "We also need to get her a toothbrush for tonight."

They traveled over to the toiletries aisle and picked up a small toothbrush, went to the checkout counter, paid for their purchases and then left.

They returned to Gwen's kitchenette and Luis pulled out the Dalmatian puppy from the shopping bag and held it up for Jane to look at it. With shining eyes, she clutched it lovingly to her little chest and cuddled it. Gwen's daughter tried to grab it, but Theresa's daughter wrenched away.

"Noooo!" Jane warned her sister. "Mine!"

"Janie," Gwen chided her daughter. "You have your own special friend. Don't you love Simba anymore?"

"Simba mine," Her daughter answered, cuddling her lion lovingly.

"That's right," Luis answered. "You both have your own special friend, now."

Gwen fixed both girls a snack of oatmeal chocolate cookies and milk and set them both at the table. As she was reaching for a cookie, Jane accidentally knocked over her sippy cup, causing the top to come off and spill its contents all over the table. Hank, Luis and Gwen were struck by the look of fright on the little girl's face as she frantically tried to mop it up with her napkin.

All three looked at each other, not knowing what to say.

"That's all right, Jane," Gwen soothed as she came over with a wet cloth. "Accidents happen."

She mopped up the mess as the little girl watched her warily. Once the table was clean, Gwen poured more milk into Jane's sippy cup, made sure the lid was screwed in tightly this time, gave it to her and walked over to Hank and Luis. The child could not relax until then.

"You saw the way she reacted?" Gwen asked the two men.

"I don't know what to think," Luis answered in consternation.

"I do," Hank said grimly. "James Hooper didn't die hard enough and Heather Hooper is a waste of oxygen."

Luis and Gwen took both little girls back into the bathroom and brushed their teeth.

Then they put them both in the little trundle that Gwen had rented from the motel.

Once both the little girls were asleep, Hank excused himself and went back to his kitchenette, leaving Luis and Gwen behind.

They sat together in silence at the table for a few minutes.

"You seem preoccupied tonight, Gwen," Luis commented. "Penny for your thoughts?"

"Oh, I'm just trying to figure out what to do to get my daughter used to having a new name," Gwen answered. "Every time, I try to call her Ashley, she looks upset and scared. Especially with this new little girl having the name she has been answering to all her life. I know it's not true, but it's kind of like Theresa's daughter has stolen my daughter's identity or that is how it will feel to her."

"Why name her Ashley?" Luis asked. "Why don't you name her something closer sounding to what she is used to?"

"Jane is a pretty distinctive name," Gwen answered. "It's going to be hard to find something close."

"I notice you've been calling her Janie since Jane got here," Luis remarked. "She doesn't seem upset by that."

"Oh, I call her that when she's tired or sick or upset," Gwen explained.

"You know Janie sounds very close to Jenny," Luis suggested. "Jennifer sounds every bit as yuppie as Ashley does. You don't have to give up the name Ashley completely, Gwen. That could be her middle name."

"Jennifer Ashley Hotchkiss Winthrop," Gwen said, testing it out loud.

"Sounds very yuppie to me," Luis grinned. "Jane wouldn't even notice if you gradually stopped calling her Janie and started calling her Jenny. She's so young, she'd eventually think that Jennifer was always her name and Jenny was always her nickname."

"I remember going to school with a Jenny," Gwen commented. "She was the most popular girl there. Not because she was so pretty, but because she was so sweet. Everyone loved her. That's what I'd want for my little girl."

"Well, how about it?" Luis asked.

"Jenny, it is," Gwen smiled. "Thank you, Luis for your help. I was beside myself with frustration. You are a genius."

"I know," Luis smirked modestly.

They both shared a comfortable laugh together, then Luis decided to go back to his kitchenette. Gwen saw him to the door where he bade her good night, embraced her and kissed her on her cheek, as a forbidden part of her thrilled to his touch.

Filled with a certain longing, Gwen watched him walk to his kitchenette, unlock the door and close it behind him. She then closed and locked her door.

She was overwhelmed with the sweetness of Luis naming her child, just as if he was her father. For a moment, she wondered what life would have been like if Luis was Jenny's father. But that was a fantasy. An incredibly wonderful fantasy, that's all. However, the reality was Ethan and his divided loyalties. She just hoped that wouldn't screw Jenny up as badly as it had herself.


	8. Salted Wounds

Gwen woke up the next morning to hear the soft sound of babies playing together on the floor next to her bed. Evidently, her daughter had been too involved with her new little "friend" to wake her mommy up early, as was customary. Jenny and Jane were playing with brightly covered blocks. Each girl kept her stuffed toy or special friend, by her side. They were conversing in half-baby-babble and half-pidgin English.

Gwen looked at the time and was appalled. She was used to getting up with Jane no later than 7:30 am and now it was almost 9:30 am. Her own stomach rumbled. The children must be starving. She jumped out of bed and made it before quickly changing out of her nightgown to some casual clothes.

Then she changed and washed both girls then dressed them, putting Jane in the outfit she had originally bought for Jenny, but had planned to return because it seemed too intense for her outside the store lightening. The deep blue outfit looked like it was designed for Jane. She put Jenny in a similar, rose-colored outfit. Then she proceeded to make them some scrambled eggs and sausage with some fresh fruit and milk. After putting them in bibs, she served them their brunch, since it was almost 10:00 am. She was about to sit down to her own breakfast when she heard a knock at the door.

When she answered it, she was taken aback to see Jonathan, Luis, and Hank standing there with Heather Hooper who had a large, flowered tote bag containing some files in her possession. She had only seen Heather from a distance, so like Luis, Gwen was surprised to see how much the pretty woman had aged.

"Come in," Gwen said. "We were just about to have breakfast. If you haven't eaten, Heather, you can have my plate and I'll cook the rest of us more."

"Don't put yourself out, Gwen," Luis told her. "All three of us ate at the courthouse café."

"The family jet is fueled and waiting to take us back to Boston," Jonathan said. "Luis and I will retire to our rooms to pack."

"I'm going to hit the Wal-Mart for some groceries to tide me over while this investigation is wrapping up," Hank said.

"Henry, I insist on putting you up at a first class hotel with proper room service," Jonathan told Hank sternly as Hanks eyebrows lifted in surprised amazement. "It's the least I can do for all that you have done for my family."

"Well," Hank grinned with a shrug. "If you insist…"

"I do."

"Then I'll pack my bags right away, sir!"

"You do that."

"Doesn't Jane look pretty?!" Heather exclaimed. "Hello, baby," she cooed, putting down her tote bag and moving towards Jane as the child looked at her in alarm and shrank fearfully back into her chair.

Reflexively, Gwen found herself getting between Heather and Jane, standing her ground.

"Yes," Gwen agreed pointedly, "Isn't it amazing what a bath, clean clothes and proper attention can do?"

"It wasn't my fault," Heather whined sulkily. "James had a cocaine addiction and put every spare penny we had up his nose."

"You could have left him and applied to Alistair for more money," Gwen accused. "He pays his people well and he would have kept James from touching anymore of it."

"I tried contacting him a year ago, but without any luck," Heather snapped defensively. "Do you think I wanted to live like that?"

That means that Alistair must be dead and with him, Marty, Gwen thought, sneaking a look at Luis, sympathetically noting that a shadow crossed his face and his shoulders sagged in defeat.

"In any case, Heather needs a fresh start," Hank said smoothly. "I figured both you and Theresa would reward her handsomely for the return of your daughters. Since you believed she had miscarried your embryo, she was never paid for her services as surrogate."

"As long as she signs off all rights to my daughter, I have no problem paying for her services, with interest," Gwen answered suspiciously. "I will need the hospital records and birth certificate, of course. You do have them, Heather, don't you?"

"Of course," Heather smirked cynically. "I have them right here."

"You don't mind if I take a look at them, do you?" Gwen asked.

"Not at all," Heather smiled.

The men had hung around, fearing Gwen's explosive temper, but they saw that Heather's documents had diverted Gwen's wrath and saw this as their cue to leave and get ready for their trip. All three men debarked towards their own cabanas to pack for their new destinations.

Gwen first looked at her daughter's birth certificate curiously. It was listed under "Baby Girl Winthrop," with Gwyneth Hotchkiss as donor mother, Ethan Winthrop as father and Heather Hooper as surrogate. She was born at the fertility clinic and Gwen's doctor had delivered her.

"I see that my daughter was born on February 18th, Gwen said. "I was used to celebrating it on February 20th which, I guess, is actually Theresa's daughter's birthday."

"Yeah," Heather said casually. "Your daughter is an Aquarius, not a Pisces."

But Nathan would have been, Gwen thought painfully, the words on Jenny's birth certificate misting before her eyes. In a weird way, looking at the different date on her daughter's birth certificate was like reading her son's death certificate. It hit her harder than she would have thought, even after all this time. Had she really been so naïve as to believe that discovering her daughter would erase the loss of her son?

Involuntarily, her eyes traveled to Jane. The real Jane Pilar Lopez-Fitzgerald Winthrop. She had to look away or she would scream from the agony. She was overwhelmed by pain and bitterness. I should be grateful, she chided herself, but her feelings of loss did not dissipate.

To relieve her tension, she started cleaning her kitchenette and packing her luggage with her and Jane's clothing. Except for her favorite stuffed lion, Gwen boxed up Jenny's toys in the crate she had bought for that purpose. Making the bed, she then started changing Jenny and paused, looking at Heather who just sat on her behind, watching Gwen and making no move to change Jane.

"Aren't you going to change Jane?" Gwen asked. "After all, she's used to you, not me."

"My days of changing babies' shitty diapers are over," Heather retorted haughtily. "Feel free to change her yourself."

Gwen felt her temper rising and her right hand just itched to slap the snot out of Heather. But that odious bitch still hadn't signed off on any claim to Jenny yet, so with great effort, she held back. Biting her tongue, she finished changing Jenny and reached for Jane.

The three men came back inside.

"Are the twins ready to go, yet?" Hank asked cheerfully.

Gwen snapped up her head and glared at him as he involuntarily quailed before the look in her eyes in spite of himself.

"They. Are. Not. Twins!" She gritted out. Then exhaled angrily.

With great precision, she cautiously changed Jane, being careful to secure the diaper without making it too tight. The child lay limp and unresisting, staring at her out of wide, frightened eyes, not even breathing.

Gwen forced herself to smile sweetly at the little girl as she finished up.

"There you go, Jane," Gwen said softly. "You and Jenny play for a few minutes before we go while I take this trash out."

Refusing to look any of the adults in the eye, Gwen gathered up the trash and took it out to the garbage bin, closing the door firmly behind her. She felt totally stressed out and needed to walk it off. A few turns around the parking lot might do me some good, she thought, as she firmly closed the door behind her.

She was unaware that the three men had watched her exit with extreme gravity.

"Mrs. Winthrop seems very stressed," Heather said indifferently.

"No," Hank said, grimly. "It's not stress. It's Jane. The way she is around that little girl just creeps me out. Sorry, Jonathan. She's very careful to be as gentle as possible around Jane, but the feeling of restrained violence coming from her scares the hell out of me."

"I'm worried, too," Luis said with real concern in his voice. "It is obvious that Gwen is terribly ambivalent towards that little girl. Finding out about Jane may have reclaiming Jenny easier, but it also reopened and poured salt into wounds that barely healed. The sooner we get Jane back to Theresa, the better I will like it."

"I'm not offended, Henry," Jonathan frowned, opening his cell phone to press some buttons.

"Who are you calling?" Hank asked curiously.

"I'm contacting Leon Feldman," Jonathan answered. "He's our family attorney and he represented Gwyneth in her adoption of Jenny when she thought she was Jane, so he's familiar with the case. If anyone can expedite the transfer of these children to their respective mothers, he can!"

Jonathan retreated to the bathroom for a few minutes and came out.

"Leon has agreed to come to Boston with the necessary paperwork for both Mrs. Hooper and Gwyneth to sign," Jonathan informed them. "Hopefully, we can wrap up the Sage of Jane in record time and the children and their mothers can go on with their lives."

Gwen came back, still tense, but a little more relaxed, after walking off her nervous energy in the parking lot. She saw how carefully Jonathan, Hank and Luis were watching her and smiled at them reassuringly.

"Sorry, that took me so long," she explained. "I needed some exercise. Cabin fever!"

"I hope you're feeling better," Luis said, real concern in his eyes.

"I am, thank you," Gwen answered.

"Gwyneth," Jonathan told her. "I took the liberty of contacting Leon. He's coming to Boston with some paperwork for you and Heather to sign regarding disposition of your daughter."

"Good," Gwen said. "Thank you, father. The sooner I know that Jenny is all mine, in every sense of the word, the sooner I can relax."

They heard a knock at the door and Hank answered it. A uniformed chauffeur was at the door.

Luis and Hank helped him load up everyone's belongings into the trunk of the stretch limousine. Everyone except Hank and Heather got inside. They got into Luis' Mustang coupe. To Heather's disappointment, she had to remain in Hank's custody until she boarded Jonathan's private jet. She had really wanted a ride in the stretch limousine. However, she brightened once, Jonathan promised her he would have his personal chauffeur take her to whatever destination she chose, "once this sorry affair has been successfully concluded."

Once they landed in Boston, another federal agent would escort her to Jonathan's mansion and then to Harmony until the children had been safely returned to their parents and any charges against her were dropped.

Hank saw them off at the airport, waiting until he saw that Heather had boarded Jonathan's jet and it was traveling up the runaway. Then he headed to the first class accommodations at the hotel Jonathan had set up for him.

The flight from Birmingham to Boston commenced without incident. Once it was safe for everyone to move around the jet, the little girls clambered down from their seats and were back to playing with different toys provided by the flight attendant. Obviously Jonathan had prepared the plane to return to Boston with two easily bored small children.

Once the jet landed at the Boston airport, a federal agent met them and Heather got her wish to ride in a stretch limousine which finally pulled up in front of Jonathan's stately mansion.

"Oh, look, Father," Gwen said, gazing out the window, surprised to see Leon Feldman's silver Mercedes Benz already parked outside her family home. "Leon's already here. His car is parked in the driveway."

"Good," Jonathan answered. "I told Leon I'd make it worth his while if he could come here, tonight with the necessary paperwork, but I forgot what an efficient organization he runs. I should have known he'd be here this afternoon. Remind me never again to forget what a master attorney he is."

"I won't," Gwen laughed, filled with anticipation at the idea of eliminating the last obstacle to claiming Jenny as her own.

Everyone got out of the limousine and walked from the circular driveway to the doorway of Jonathan's palatial home, with Gwen carrying Jenny and Luis carrying Jane. A butler opened the door to let them in.

"Hello, Arthur," Jonathan said. "I see that Leon's here, as requested. Where did you put him?"

"He's awaiting you in your private study, sir." Arthur answered respectfully.

"Good," Jonathan said. "Luis, before Arthur shows you your room, he will take you to the nursery where I have an attendant waiting there to take care of the girls. I think it would be a good idea if you carry Jenny up there as well as Jane, because she feels comfortable with you. Can you do that?"

"I sure can, sir," Luis answered. He shifted Jane to his left arm, holding out his right arm to Jenny. Dimpling at him, Jenny tumbled from Gwen's arms into his. Arthur and Luis and the girls headed towards the stairs as the chauffeur carried Luis' bags behind them.

Jonathan, Gwen and Heather filed into the study where Leon Feldman awaited them.

"Leon!" Jonathan said heartily. "It's good to see you."

"Likewise, sir," Leon answered, rising to shake Jonathan's outstretched hand warmly.

"Do you have the documentation on Jenny for Heather to sign off on?" Gwen asked eagerly.

"I sure do, Gwen," Leon answered crisply. "I not only have that, but I also have the paperwork on Jane for you to sign off on."

Gwen stared at Leon in mild shock.

"Are you telling me I have to sign off on Theresa's daughter before she can get Jane back?" Gwen asked him as Jonathan looked at her sharply.

"That's exactly what I'm telling you," Leon answered. "I have to go back to court to tell Judge Weimer that you want your adoption of Jane Pilar Lopez Fitzgerald set aside. Usually people returning their adoptive children is a tragic affair. Often these are special needs children and the adoptive parents underestimated what they were taking on. Still, it's heartbreaking to watch. However, once I acquaint Judge Weimer with all the facts, she will be only too happy to see that Jane is returned to her mother."

"Oh," Gwen answered, her face expressionless as she mulled over his words. "Well, let's start with Jennifer, then. Do you have her paperwork?"

"Right here," Leon said drawing it out of his briefcase. "Here is the check for Mrs. Hooper's surrogacy services as well as any interest that may have compounded and a bonus. Are you happy with this payment, Mrs. Hooper?"

"I sure am!" Heather grinned, her eyes popping at the size of the amount of the check.

"Mrs. Hooper, here is where you and Mrs. Winthrop need to sign," Leon continued, indicating each area they had to apply their signature. "Please initial those paragraphs I have 'X'ed off."

Both Gwen and Heather did as he instructed and Leon handed Heather the check.

"It's a pleasure doing business with you," Heather said smugly as she put it in her purse.

"Now, Jane's paperwork, Gwen," Leon said. "I've 'X'ed off the paragraphs you need to initial here, as well and then sign here. Then I'll file these at the court first thing tomorrow morning."

Gwen heard Jonathan's intake of breath as she smiled sweetly.

"Let's hold off on Jane's paperwork for a while, Leon." Gwen told him as everyone in the room stared at her, aghast.


	9. The Case for Revenge

Leon stared at a smiling Gwen hard.

"For how long should I hold off them, Gwen?" He asked her.

"I'll get back to you on that," Gwen answered him.

"Do you intend to have Leon file them at all?" Jonathan inquired incredulously.

"Just how long do you intend to keep that baby from the woman who gave birth to her?"

"Oh," Gwen responded. "Do you mean the woman who was allegedly so adamant about giving birth to MY baby that she assaulted my surrogate, here, and stole my son? That woman?"

"So, this is about revenge, then?" Jonathan accused.

"Yes," Gwen said baldly. "It is."

"But didn't Ethan tell me that she did so because you took her son?" Jonathan pointed out.

"I didn't take her son," Gwen answered. "She lost him because she was an unfit mother. I adopted him after the court terminated her maternal rights."

"But your mother instigated the court action against her," Jonathan reminded Gwen.

"Yes, she did," Gwen responded. "Because that bitch killed my Sarah!"

"Ethan said that that was an accident," Jonathan remarked.

"That was no accident," Gwen retorted. "That little psycho followed us to Los Angeles to ambush me by pursuing Ethan. Even though she knew that I was going through a dangerously stressful pregnancy thanks to her antics in Harmony."

"But Ethan said her presence there was a mere coincidence!"

"Coincidence?!" Gwen exclaimed. "From a stalker so obsessed with Ethan that she knew when he used the bathroom?! Please! I will never believe that. She knew I was seeing a specialist in Los Angeles, so she took a working vacation there. And when I say 'working,' I mean that breaking up Ethan and me has been her sole occupation since she slithered into our lives! No, Father. She came there to wreak death and destruction on Sarah and me. You see, one of us had to go to meet her objectives. Didn't matter much which one."

Jonathan looked at Gwen, appalled. It was like an evil entity had taken over her.

"Gwyneth, please give up on this idea of revenge," Jonathan pleaded. "Living well is the best revenge. You have the golden opportunity to do that now with your child, Jennifer!"

"I can't live well if that means Theresa lives well, too!" Gwen snapped.

"Yes, you can!"

"No, I can't! Do you have any idea what that whore did after she stole my embryos? Shortly afterward, she started spotting. Now any woman with a lick of sense or common decency - any other woman, that is - would have immediately contacted the doctor or A doctor. Even in secret. After all, doctor-patient confidentiality is sacrosanct in this country. She might have discovered that MY baby was still safe and sound. But not our Theresa. Do you know what her solution to this little conundrum was? You don't?! Well, it was to drug Ethan, slip into my bed impersonating me, and sleep with my husband. I think that was the whole point. In any case, she conceived Jane and Nathan was safe and sound no more!"

Gwen was so agitated at this point, she started pacing, oblivious to the morbidly fascinated stares she was getting from Jonathan, Leon, and Heather.

"So, after Heather, here, told me she had lost Jennifer," Gwen continued. "Theresa was my only hope for living children, because I thought she was carrying my twins. It turned out to be a false hope. She had no intentions of giving me any child even after I allowed Ethan to talk me into giving Little Ethan back to her."

"So, where was I?" Gwen asked. "Oh, yes. Then it was discovered that Theresa's uterus was too small to carry both of 'my' twins to term. The doctors told us that unless one of them was terminated, both of them would likely die. Do you know what that little troll did? She piously declares with the kind of self-righteous sanctimony that I have only seen from that bitch mother of hers that she cannot have an abortion! Mind you, she did not tell me that one of the twins was hers! Theresa is not big on full disclosure. So, I had to beg, plead and grovel on my hands and knees to talk her into terminating one of the children! My baby! Then, she ever-so 'reluctantly' agreed. Fiendishly clever, wouldn't you agree? Masterfully diabolical!"

"I HATE her!" Gwen screamed. "God, how I hate her! When I think of the days, the weeks and the months I treated her like spun glass, waiting on her hand and foot, sucking up her airs and graces like the desperate, pathetic fool that I was. The whole time, I could feel her smirking behind my back and those great big gloating eyes on me. She had already gotten Little Ethan back. She knew my son was dead and that it was her daughter she carried. But she still kept the game up, torturing me to the bitter end. Then, after Jane was born and I found out what she had done, she laughed in my face about my dead children. She taunted me, because I was barren. She reveled in the fact that her plan to keep me from ever having a child by Ethan succeeded beyond her wildest dreams!"

"But she didn't succeed, Gwyneth," Jonathan pointed out. "Jennifer is living proof of that."

"Just because she didn't succeed doesn't mean she doesn't deserve to be punished," Gwen said stubbornly. "Do you know that, if not for me, Little Ethan would have been stillborn? I saved Theresa's son, because he would have died from her pre-eclampsia! I made sure she had a live child and how did she repay me? With two dead children, that's how! I don't owe that bitch anymore favors!"

"All right," Jonathan conceded. "I can see where you loathe that young woman and want to see her punished. But what about the innocent party in all this? What about Jane? What did she ever do to you?"

"She was BORN!" Gwen raged. "And Nathan died."

"That child had nothing to say about being born and who her mother is, Gwyneth!" Jonathan said sternly. "Surely, you don't mean to hold onto a child you can't bear the sight of. You plan to abuse an innocent just to get back at her mother?"

"You know me better than that, Father," Gwen replied, stung to the quick. "I have absolutely no plans to 'abuse' that little girl. In fact, I will make sure she will have everything she could possibly want. Believe me, I will take better care of Theresa's child than she ever took care of mine!"

"Everything she could possibly want," Jonathan echoed ironically, "Except a mother's love."

"She'll have that, too!"

"Can you honestly say to yourself, 'Jane Pilar Lopez-Fitzgerald Winthrop is my adopted daughter, the child of my heart?' No, you cannot. Even now, you are referring to her as 'Theresa's child, that psycho-bitch-troll-whore's daughter.' There is no way you can give Jane the love she needs and you know it! That's abuse, Gwyneth!" Jonathan remonstrated, feeling like he was wrestling the devil for his daughter's very soul.

"I am not going to mistreat that little girl!" Gwen exclaimed.

"I don't see you putting cigarettes out in her hand," Jonathan said. "But that little girl is very intuitive. There's no way she could have survived the conditions she was living in with the Hoopers without great intelligence and sensitivity. You can bend over backwards to make sure you don't treat her any differently from Jennifer and I know you will. But that little girl will sense the truth, Gwyneth. Every time she watches how the expression in your eyes changes whenever they move from Jennifer to rest on her, she will know. She will grow up feeling unloved and unworthy. Don't put her through that."

"For God's sake, Father!" Gwen cried. "Do you think I can't differentiate between Jane and Theresa? My hatred for Theresa didn't stop me from loving Little Ethan or Jennifer when the whole damned world thought she was Theresa's daughter. I can love this child, too! I'll be a better mother to her than that monster anyway. What can she teach Jane, but how to be a lying sociopath like she is, anyway?"

"So, there is nothing I can say to make you give up this nonsense?" Jonathan demanded.

"Absolutely nothing!" Gwen snapped defiantly.

"You are not going to give Theresa her daughter back?"

"I'm going to give her exactly what I got," Gwen said. "Two pictures. There's Nathan's ultrasound picture taken with Jane. Then there is Nathan all alone in his coffin. Come with me to the nursery, Heather. I'll get the camera."

Before Jonathan could say another word to his daughter, Gwen had yanked Heather out of the room.

"Can she do this?" Jonathan asked Leon.

"Yes, she can," Leon answered. "Gwen is Jane's legal mother. Theresa Lopez-Fitzgerald Crane willingly signed over her maternal rights to the little girl."

"But she thought she was signing over Jenny, not Jane," Jonathan remarked.

"A minor technicality," Leon said. "The fact is, she signed over the child she thought was hers to Gwen, not the child she couldn't have known wasn't. Mrs. Crane could challenge the adoption based on the premise that this is a different child, but she'd have an uphill battle!"

"What about the child's father, then?" Jonathan asked. "What about Ethan?"

"He could challenge Gwen's adoption of Jane based on the premise that he was unaware of it and hadn't given his consent," Leon said. "But I can prove that he planned to terminate Mrs. Crane's parental rights to Jane and then for Gwen and he to adopt the child themselves right at the time of her birth, so he'd also have an uphill battle! The fact is, Jonathan, with her wealth alone, Gwen makes a formidable adversary to Ethan and Theresa. That is not factoring in, of course, the fact that Gwen holds controlling interest of Ethan's company. That is also not factoring in my belief that Gwen coerced Mrs. Crane into letting her adopt Jenny. She's got something on her, Jonathan. Something big."

Heather Hooper returned by herself, shaking her head, and holding two pictures in her hands.

"Where's my daughter?" Jonathan asked Heather.

"She decided to bathe and change," Heather said sulkily. "I think she's trying to duck you, because she doesn't want any further argument. Look, I told her that she should give Jane back to her mother and she just laughed in my face. I told her that if I didn't produce Jane, this Theresa won't pay me. She told me to sell that bitch, as she called her, these pictures."

Heather handed Jonathan the pictures and he involuntarily shuddered.

One picture was of Jane with Jenny, side by side. Each with her favorite stuffed toy, holding hands. They were smiling sweetly. The other picture was of Jane with Gwen who was holding her and facing the camera with a triumphant smirk on her face, the hatred of the woman she intended the pictures for emanating from her eyes. In this shot, Jane looked solemn. She was definitely not smiling.

Jonathan got up to use the house phone.

"What are you doing?" Leon asked curiously.

"Calling Chez Nous to set up some dinner reservations for Gwyneth and Luis," Jonathan answered. "He is her friend. When she found possible proof that Jenny was hers, it was he she called for help. If Gwen can start looking on Jane as Luis' niece instead of Mrs. Crane's daughter, we can get that child safely back to her family."

Gwen came back to Jonathan's study just as he was getting off the house phone to Luis.

"I have made reservations for you and Luis Lopez-Fitzgerald at Chez Nous," Jonathan told her. "Mrs. Hooper, Leon, and I will dine at home. Your friend believes that you two are going out to privately celebrate the restoration of two little girls to their respective mothers. I guess you can disabuse him of that notion during dinner, yourself, Gwyneth," he added, noting the chagrined look on Gwen's face with satisfaction. "You can explain why your are repaying his friendship with treachery. I'm sure he will understand."

A movement by the door distracted Gwen. Luis was just entering the study, dressed up in a suit that Jonathan had lent him for the occasion. He had cleaned up magnificently. He smiled at Gwen joyously and there was such a hopeful look in his great brown eyes that Gwen felt a twinge of guilt.

Jonathan had the car take them to the restaurant.

They both ordered their meals and some wine for dinner.

"I guess Leon had the paperwork all ready to go?" Luis asked eagerly.

"Yes," Gwen said hesitantly. "Jenny's paperwork is going to be very easy to process. All Heather had to do was furnish her birth certificate and sign off any claim on her since Ethan and I were already listed as Jenny's biological parents."

"And Jane's?" Luis asked curiously.

"That's going to be more complicated," Gwen said, choosing her words carefully. "At present, I'm her legal mother, not Theresa. After all, she signed her maternal rights over Jane Pilar Lopez-Fitzgerald Winthrop over to me."

"Well, that's easily fixed," Luis said cheerfully. "All we have to tell the court is that Theresa made a mistake. She thought Jenny was hers and didn't know about Jane."

"The point is, she signed the child she thought was Jane over to me," Gwen said. "The only person who can undo the adoption is me. It's very involved. I have to petition the court to rescind the adoption. According to Leon, courts are loath to do that."

"But once they find out that Jenny was yours all along-"

"That will still leave me the legal mother of Jane," Gwen said. "The point is, the court believes that Theresa freely signed over her parental rights of her daughter to me. It doesn't make any difference that it was the faux Jane. What it comes down to is that we are dealing with a lot of bureaucratic red tape to untangle before Jane's disposition is decided."

"Well, on paper at least," Luis said with that same dogged optimism. "In the meantime, you have Jenny and Jane can go home to her mother and in a few months, everything should be formalized by the court. We have a lot to celebrate, Gwen, thank God! By finding Jane, you found Jenny, so to speak. We can toast to a happy ending, for a change!"

Gwen bit down on the justification she was about to pitch for keeping Jane from Theresa. Luis looked too happy for herself and Jenny and too hopeful for Theresa and Jane for her to disappoint the man she considered her dearest friend.

"To a happy ending," Gwen smiled, lifting her glass.

All the sudden she dropped it in a sharp gasp as she doubled over with pain.

"Gwen!" Luis exclaimed, noticing how pale and drawn her face had suddenly become and how her lips turned white. "What's wrong?"

"I don't know," she said, catching her breath. "Spasm, I guess."

A waiter came over and cleaned up the mess. Gwen started to relax, but the pain returned stronger than ever.

"Cancel dinner," Luis told the waiter. "We're going to the hospital!"

"I'm sure it's nothing-" gasped Gwen as another pain gripped her lower back and abdomen.

"I'm sure it's something," Luis retorted as he hustled her out of the restaurant to the waiting car.

They got in the back seat as the chauffeur headed for the nearest hospital emergency.

"Where does it hurt?" Luis asked.

"Here," Gwen said, indicating her lower abdomen.

"Has this been going on a long time?" Luis asked, resting his hand there and feeling her abdominal muscle contract as she gasped in pain.

"No," Gwen said. "Just tonight. I've been suffering a lot of indigestion and some nausea over the past year, but I just thought it was … Ethan and Theresa …. Some gas pains for about a day or so, but nothing as bad as this! It must be something I ate. Oh! There's another one! Damn, it hurts!"

"Gwen," Luis said. "That's not gas. You're in labor!"

"No, I'm not," Gwen snapped. "Because I'm not pregnant!"

"I've delivered my share of babies, Gwen," Luis answered. "I know how a labor contraction feels under my hand."

"Do I look pregnant?!" Gwen retorted. "Because I'm not! Besides, I've been regular as clockwork!"

"Gwen there are cases-"

"Not in my case!"

As the chauffeured car pulled into the emergency room driveway, Gwen was still arguing with Luis when her water broke.


	10. A Familiar Face

Dumbfounded, Gwen clambered out of the back seat of the car as she soaked her side of the back seat, as her water broke. Luis had already jumped out of his side of the car and was racing to her side.

Gwen doubled over as another violent cramping pain hit her hard.

A hospital orderly, noting her acute distress, grabbed a wheel chair and set it behind her, as Luis eased her back into a sitting position on it.

"Ahhh," Gwen groaned in agony. She had never felt anything like this pain before!

"What's wrong with your wife?" The orderly demanded.

"She's in labor!" Luis responded, too preoccupied to correct the orderly's mistake.

"I can't be," Gwen moaned. "My periods have been like clockwork. I don't even look pregnant!" She winced again as another pain hit her. "Oh, my God, that hurts!"

The orderly nodded and rushed Gwen into the emergency room. Hospital attendants helped Gwen disrobe and cover herself with a hospital gown. The emergency room doctor came in.

"How long have you been experiencing these pains?" He asked, as he felt her abdominal muscle contractions."

"Since we were about to have dinner," Gwen gritted out.

"Have you been experiencing any discomfort prior to that?"

"Just a back ache for the past few days," Gwen answered. "I made the mistake of picking up my daughter and a particularly heavy bag of groceries. I thought I had wrenched it. Then, during dinner, it got bad and traveled towards my lower abdomen. I've been experiencing gas and nausea for a long time, so I just thought it was something I ate."

"It sounds to me like you're in labor," The doctor said.

"I told you so!" Luis grinned as Gwen scowled at him. "She was still arguing with me when her water broke!"

"Please lay back and let me examine you, ma'am," The doctor ordered her.

Gwen complied.

"Oh, boy," the doctor muttered. "You're in hard labor. You're almost fully dilated. We need to get you to labor and delivery. Stat!"

The hospital attendants started moving Gwen to labor and delivery. In panic, Gwen clutched at Luis' sleeve.

"Please don't leave me!" She begged.

"Can I be with her when she delivers?" Luis asked the doctor.

"Of course," the doctor answered him. "We don't keep fathers out of the delivery room anymore. You need to scrub down and put on a surgical outfit."

"I'll be with you as quickly as possible," Luis promised Gwen.

"Please hurry!" Gwen cried, as another cramping pain hit her hard.

Luis rushed through the hygienic procedures and put on his surgical gown, cap and hospital mask.

Gwen was writhing in pain on the table. He walked up to her and took her hand in his.

"There, there, now," Luis reassured her. "I'm here. It's okay, now."

"It hurts!" Gwen gasped.

"I know," Luis said, "And I'm sorry. But you need to breathe through the pains or you'll wear yourself out before the baby can get here. Now concentrate on breathing. It may give you some small distraction from the pain."

"Oh!" Gwen cried out as yet another pain hit her.

"Now breathe!" Luis ordered, demonstrating how Gwen could pant and breathe through her labor. Helplessly, Gwen complied.

The pain was getting particularly intense below.

"I see the head crowning!" The doctor exclaimed. "Now, push!"

Gwen screamed in agony as the urge to push became unbearable. She pushed down as hard as she could as Luis braced her back.

Luis and Gwen heard the doctor smack the baby who gave a lusty cry.

"It's a boy!" The doctor exulted. "He looks great considering you didn't have any prenatal care to speak of!"

"A boy?" Gwen echoed dazedly.

"A boy!" Luis smiled.

"Does the dad want to cut the cord?" The nurse asked, handing Luis a surgical knife before he could answer.

"He's-" Gwen stopped herself, because before she could correct the nurse's mistake, since Luis was already cutting the cord.

Gwen still couldn't believe what was happening until the nurse swaddled her infant son and laid him in her arms. It wasn't until she touched his soft little hand and it curled around her finger to grip it that it felt real.

Flesh of my flesh, blood of my blood, bone of my bone, Gwen thought abstractedly as the love she felt for this little boy just overwhelmed her.

She was distracted when Luis moved to her side and touched the baby boy's other hand. He laughed, his eyes sparkling with joy as the boy's hand gripped his finger.

"Wow, check out the grip on that little guy!" Luis exclaimed.

To Gwen, her son was the most beautiful sight she could ever remember seeing. He had a thick head of wheat colored hair, a strong, stubborn chin, firm, slightly full lips, a nose that would look chiseled when he was older and big, wide-set eyes of blue that were incredibly dark.

"We need to move your wife and son to a private room," the nurse said.

"While they're setting you up, I'm going to have to use a payphone to call your father and tell him the news, because I forgot my cell phone in my room," Luis told Gwen. "We've been gone quite a while. I imagine he's worried sick about you."

"Okay," Gwen smiled, still basking in the joy of just holding the son she never thought she could have.

Luis left the room.

"You're son is one of the most beautiful babies I've ever seen in this hospital," The nurse told her. "I can tell he's going to be a handsome man when he grows up. He may have your coloring, but he definitely looks like his daddy."

Startled, Gwen looked down at her son. Surely the nurse was just being nice, saying the same platitudes and pleasantries she told every one she assumed were the parents in such a situation. And yet … Gwen frowned delicately. Her son did not look like Ethan. At all. Aside from Gwen's coloration, he did resemble Luis. Mentally, she calculated the months, weeks, and days that had passed since she spent the night with Luis in Rome for a few minutes. No. He was born way too late for his father to be Luis. Three or four weeks earlier, she could be sure, because she hadn't been with Ethan at all during that time. No. He must have been conceived the night she and Ivy told Ethan they were going to resurrect the Winthrop Family Law Firm.

But still … She felt a sense of pleasure speculating that Luis might have fathered him. At first. Then she played out the ramifications in her head from such an unlikely scenario. The awful impact it would have on her relationship with Sheridan and his with Fancy. Then there was the thought of sharing ties of blood through her son with that hideous family of his. She shuddered in spite of herself.

She looked up when her hospital room door opened. It was Luis, but he was not alone. She smiled when she saw her father. He had hastily dressed and looked a little rumpled for someone who was such a meticulous dresser.

"Are you all right, Gwyneth?" He asked tenderly.

"Yes, Father," Gwen answered. "You have a grandson now!"

As if on cue, a nurse came in, carrying her son who had been cleaned and dressed. She laid him in Gwen's outstretched arms.

"Oh my God," Jonathan said reverently, as he touched the baby's hand. Once again, the baby's fingers curled around the probing finger.

Jonathan looked at his grandson more intently and frowned.

"This boy certainly has a familiar face," Jonathan remarked. "But he doesn't look like Ethan at all. He has your coloring. Do you know who he reminds me of?"

Gwen felt her heart pounding. Involuntarily, she glanced at Luis who was staring back at Gwen with the same question in his eyes.

"No," she whispered, her mouth suddenly dry. "Who?"

"My grandfather," Jonathan answered. "Do you remember that antique double picture in the bookshelf of my study with that little boy next to the young man on his wedding day?"

"The little boy in the dress?" Gwen asked. "I remember Grandma telling me that they put baby boys in dresses until they were potty-trained."

"Yes, that one," Jonathan answered. "I'm going to have Arthur bring it over, so you can see what I mean."

The three adults chatted and continued admiring the baby boy when Arthur came in with the picture. Sure enough, it was the boy in the dress. Gwen's son was almost a dead ringer for Jonathan's grandfather. She looked at his adult picture. His hair had darkened to brown. But he had her son's face and chin and jaw. He also resembled her good friend, Luis Lopez-Fitzgerald, she noted, with some dull astonishment. He had died when she was a small girl, but she always remembered his humor and his patience and gentleness. In fact, when she remembered his looks, personality and mannerisms, she could well understand how and why she had always instinctively liked, trusted, and even been drawn to Luis, as much as she loathed and despised his family.

"That's Louis Hotchkiss," Jonathan told Luis. "See the resemblance?"

"I sure do," Luis answered, examining the photograph carefully.

"So, what are you going to name your son, Gwyneth?" Jonathan asked his daughter.

"I'm going to name him after you, Father," Gwen answered. "But I'm also going to name him after your grandfather. This works out well, because I was planning to give him that middle name, anyway because Luis, here, helped me deliver him. So, his name is going to be Jonathan Louis. I think I'll call him Jon-Louis for short. What do you think?"

"Well, I sure like that," Luis laughed. "How about you, Jonathan?"

"I have no problem with that myself," Jonathan chuckled.

"Then, Jon-Louis, it is!" Gwen said joyously.

"So, when are you going to tell his father?" Jonathan asked.

Again, Gwen's eyes involuntarily flew to Luis.

"Father?" Gwen echoed stupidly.

"Father," Jonathan repeatedly patiently. "When are you going to tell Ethan?"

"I'm not planning to tell Ethan," Gwen answered decisively.

"What?!" Jonathan demanded. "Why not?"

"Because he's with Theresa, now," Gwen responded. "That bars him from Jon's life indefinitely, as far as I'm concerned. The best way to accomplish that is if he never knows."

"You're keeping Jon-Louis a secret from Ethan to punish him for being with my sister?"

"No, Luis, I'm keeping Jon-Louis a secret to keep him safe from your sister," Gwen retorted. "Now you can call me paranoid if you wish. I'm sure this is merely an amazing coincidence, but my babies have this nasty habit of failing to thrive around your sister."

"Theresa is going to know about Jenny the moment she gets Jane back," Luis protested.

"Ahh, but in Theresa's mind, her own biological daughter by Ethan is going to cancel out mine," Gwen explained. "See, Ethan loves her more than he loves me, so it is only logical that Ethan will love their child more than he loves ours. Jenny is safe, because Jane cancels her out. Count on Theresa to use 'making up for lost time' with Jane as the excuse to ease Jenny out of the picture. But, if she finds out that I have an acknowledged son by Ethan and she hasn't, then that puts Jon-Louis in jeopardy. I won't chance that."

"Theresa has to find out eventually," Jonathan warned Gwen with a hard look in his eye. "Especially now that you not only have Jenny, but you have physical custody of and control over Jane. It will only be a matter of days before she comes to Boston to check on the welfare of her biological daughter. In fact, I can predict she will move to Boston until Jane's adoption by you is rescinded!"

"You're right," Gwen told Jonathan worriedly. "But you know what is involved in rescinding an adoption. The courts are loath to do that until all the paperwork has been reviewed. Then there is the matter that Theresa's antics leading up to Jane's conception and violent outburst in court is what lost her Jane's custody initially, anyway. So, where does that leave us?"

"There's a problem with returning Jane to Theresa?" Luis asked, frowning.

"As I tried to tell you over dinner, before I went into labor, rescinding a finalized adoption is very complicated," Gwen informed Luis. "We have no idea where she could end up."

"But didn't the court award Jane's father sole custody?" Jonathan asked. "I know that you shared that custody with him, but only because you two were married. Your only standing at the time was as Jane's stepmother; that's why you pursued this adoption of her, right?"

"Right," Gwen answered, wondering where he was going with this.

"Then the solution is simple," Jonathan said. "Leon can amend your divorce decree so that the custody agreement gives you sole control over Jenny, not Jane. Since the court already established Ethan as sole conservator of Jane, all we would need to do is hand that little girl over to his control."

"That sounds like it could work," Luis said hopefully. "Then by the time the hearing to rescind Jane's adoption goes through, Jane will already be established with Theresa. The court is unlikely to change that."

"Possession being nine-tenths of the law, I imagine not," Jonathan responded.

"Okay, that works for me," Gwen said, thinking hard. "But I want transfer to happen after I get Jon-Louis home to my townhouse. With your permission, Father, I'd like Jenny to stay with you until Ethan picks up Jane. And please don't say anything about Jon-Louis to Heather Hooper. I-I don't trust her. That's why I don't want to pick up Jenny yet. I don't want that woman knowing where I live, much less about my son."

"All right, I won't," Jonathan agreed. "I agree that if would be much better to keep Mrs. Hooper in the dark about Jon-Louis. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to contact Leon so he can draw up that custody amendment. When Ethan gets to Boston, you'll have to sign off on some papers with him, Gwyneth."

"I will," Gwen promised. "But one more thing, Father."

"What's that, my dear?"

"I want it set up where Ethan waits outside in his car for several minutes when he is ready to take Jane back to Theresa. Heather can carry Jane out to him, since she will be going with him to Harmony to collect her big Crane payoff. I-I want Jenny to think that Jane left with Heather, not that Ethan took Jane and left her behind … even if it is true," Gwen finished miserably.

"I understand," Jonathan said gently. "I will make such arrangements with Ethan."

"I know I'm being silly," Gwen said apologetically. "She's probably too young to remember anything about this, but I-I don't want to take any chances. I don't want her to grow up with my insecurities."

"You're not being silly, Gwen," Luis told her. "You're just being a good mother."

Gwen smiled gratefully at this. Jonathan left the room to talk to Leon while Gwen and Luis sat silently together a few minutes.

"Thank you for being there when Jon-Louis came," Gwen said suddenly.

"Thank you for letting me be a part of the experience," Luis responded. "This was really special. I wasn't there when Marty was born."

"I know. It was … awe-inspiring … wasn't it?"

"It sure was," Luis said fervently. Gwen squirmed as he searched her eyes intently. "Is Jon-Louis my son, Gwen?"

"What makes you ask that?" Gwen asked uncomfortably.

"The timing is right," Luis answered. "He looks like me. I-I know that he looks like your great-grandfather, but he also looks like me. I've been wondering since I first saw him. Not even Marty looks that much like me. Is there any chance at all that he could be mine, Gwen?"

His directness made Gwen's heart beat faster as she searched his eyes trying to read what his reaction would be if Jon was his or not.

"No, Luis," Gwen said slowly. "I'm positive he's not your son."

"How can you be sure?" Luis demanded.

"I-I saw the physical resemblance right away, myself," Gwen admitted. "I totally forgot about Louis Hotchkiss' picture in Father's study. So, I counted back to that night and it's too long, Luis. If Jon had been born three or four weeks ago, there could be a chance. But I don't see how. Especially since I had a heavy period right after Rome. I was still regular after that, but they were lighter."

Gwen didn't know how to gauge the expression on Luis' face, it was so ambivalent.

"What are you thinking, Luis?" Gwen asked bluntly.

"I don't know whether to be glad or sad," Luis admitted. "Part of me would really love it if Jon was my son. Even now I can see that he's the type of boy any man would be proud to claim as his own. But another part of me … well, all I can think of is how this would affect your friendship with Sheridan and my relationship with Fancy. Boy, would that be problematic! I'm not upsetting you with that admission, am I?"

"No, not at all," Gwen reassured him. "I felt the same way before I did the math. I lo-, I mean I really care for you, Luis. I think you're my dearest friend in all the world. You got me through a rough spot in Rome and now, you've helped me prove that Jenny is mine. If not for the collateral damage with Sheridan and Fancy, I'd be honored if Jon was yours, but yes, we'd be opening a can of worms I don't want to delve into!"

"Son or not, he is my name-sake, at least partially," Luis said. "He'll always be special to me." He got up. "I see that you're exhausted, so I'm going to go back to Jonathan's so you can get some rest." He leaned over and kissed her upturned cheek.

The following morning Gwen had her son's birth certificate identify herself as his mother and him as Jonathan Louis Hotchkiss. Under father, she put unknown.


	11. All Things Being Equal

Ethan unlocked the door of the boardinghouse apartment he used to share with Gwen and put his packed luggage down. He was at loose ends and unsure how to proceed next.

After finding out that Gwen was back in Boston and had Jane safely in her custody, Theresa, at Jared's prompting, had evicted Ethan from Crane House. After all, he could not meet Theresa's ultimatum, demanding he give Jane back to her if he wanted her back, so what was the point of sticking around?

Ethan poked through the kitchen morosely. He was hungry, but there was nothing to eat. The cupboards and refrigerator were practically bare now. He debated whether he should go to the grocery store and buy some frozen dinners or just order delivery. He wasn't in the mood to go out to a restaurant … by himself … he was too depressed.

Theresa was going to allow Jared to adopt Little Ethan. In vain, he protested, but she was adamant that the boy needed a father, a real father, not some dilettante like Julian Crane to be a role model to him. Since she was now married to Jared, it made perfect sense for him to step up to the plate. The thought of Jared being married to Theresa was painful enough but Ethan thought the idea of Jared adopting Little Ethan was more than he could bear.

Ethan jumped as his cell phone rang. "Hello?"

"Ethan," Jonathan's cultured, authoritative voice sounded in his ear. "I would like you to come to Boston as soon as possible."

"To Boston?" Ethan echoed. "Why?"

"It's concerning the matter of Jane's disposition," Jonathan answered.

"Jane?" Ethan repeated. "Is she all right?"

"Yes," Jonathan answered.

"Well, then what can you tell me about Jane?" Ethan asked.

"Nothing over the phone," Jonathan answered shortly. "Come tomorrow, come alone and say nothing to her biological mother about this." Then he hung up without further explanation.

A curious Ethan arrived the next day at mid-morning, filled with questions. The older man had been very mysterious. Why couldn't he say anything to Theresa about going to Boston to check on Jane? Then it hit him. Maybe, her leaving him aside, Gwen secretly wanted him back? Perhaps Jonathan was aware of this and this was his ploy to get Ethan and Gwen talking so they could reconcile. Ethan remembered that the Hotchkiss Family wanted him to marry Gwen as much as the Cranes did. That had to be it!

Arthur ushered Ethan into Jonathan's study.

"Ethan," Jonathan said politely, his expression unreadable.

"Hello, Jonathan," Ethan said. "I came to Boston as quickly as possible. If Gwen wants to forget about this divorce, that's fine with me. I want to work things out with her."

"You can make your pitch to Gwen," Jonathan said neutrally, his face inscrutable. "If she wants to take you back, then I won't oppose it. She's a grown woman who knows her own mind. But," and here Ethan was shocked as his voice and eyes grew hard. "I expressly forbid you to say anything to Gwen about Theresa Lopez-Fitzgerald's marriage to Jared Casey."

"She doesn't know?" Ethan asked curiously. "I would have thought Rebecca told her!"

"I've gone out of my way to keep her incommunicado, especially from her mother. That is not information she needs to hear from anyone, especially now. I warn you that if you tell her, I will make it my mission in life to ruin you," Jonathan threatened. "Is that understood, Ethan?"

"T-That's understood, sir," Ethan stammered.

"Good," Jonathan said. "She's upstairs with Jane, now. "I'll have Arthur fetch her."

Ethan was unsettled by Jonathan's attitude, but still slightly encouraged. He mentally rehearsed what he was going to say to Gwen in order to win her back.

"I see you got my father's message," Ethan stopped pacing at the sound of his estranged wife's cool voice.

"I did," Ethan answered. "He told me this was about Jane." He saw that Gwen was about to open her mouth so he angrily interrupted her. "My daughter. Who you adopted behind my back. I discovered this when I looked into the reason why you thought you could legally seek sole custody of your stepdaughter when you had no legal standing to do so. You schemed to leave me a long time ago, even if you had to perpetrate a fraud on the family court. A fraud, had I exposed it, that could have put you in jail. You planned to leave me months before you found me with Theresa!"

"I was planning this since Rome," Gwen admitted.

"I never cheated on you with Theresa before Rome," Ethan claimed. "But I did feel the growing distance between us once we got back. I think that's what drove me to her, in the end."

Gwen stared at him unapologetically, without a trace of guilt on her face.

"I finally got fed up with your obsession for that bitch," she finally said. "I got tired of fighting it. I thought if she just backed off and found someone of her own, you would be free of her and could love me again, but that didn't happen. Her taking up with Jared Casey only made matters worse."

"I-I'm sorry, Gwen," Ethan apologized. "It was hard seeing Jared Casey take my place. Not so much with Theresa, but at Crane. I felt like I was dispossessed all over again."

"I helped you resurrect the Winthrop Family Law Firm to give you the heritage you should have had all along," Gwen retorted. "Your rightful heritage. Not one that had been stolen from Fox by your scheming mother!"

"I know, I know," Ethan said hastily. "I know that, here," he tapped his forehead. "But here, it's hard to let go," he continued tapping the center of his chest. "She and Julian had such big plans for me."

"Plans for both of us. Plans that included me," Gwen reminded him. "But I've learned to let go, so why can't you?"

"It's hard," Ethan repeated. "I was confused, Gwen. My future was mapped out to marry you and together, we'd run Crane and Hotchkiss for a while before launching my gubernatorial bid. Ultimately seeking the presidency with you at my side as my first lady. You still had Hotchkiss, but I had lost Crane."

"I'm sorry," Gwen said. "I don't know what to say, except you can build a new future with the Winthrop Family Law Firm."

"I know," Ethan answered. "I didn't understand this until I lost you, Gwen and I've been at loose ends ever since. I think my obsession with Theresa, as you call it, is actually my obsession with Crane. No way was losing you worth it, Gwen. I have Winthrop now, but it means nothing to me without you. I can stay away from Theresa now, I promise. Just come back to me, honey. I miss you. I know I wasn't the most attentive father in the past, but I miss my little girl, too. I don't want to be a visitor in her life! All I want to do is be there for my daughter!"

Ethan was aghast as Gwen laughed sardonically.

"And which daughter would that be, Ethan?" Gwen finally asked after she stopped laughing.

"What the hell do you mean by that?" Ethan demanded.

"Follow me," Gwen responded. Ethan shook his head in bemusement as he followed her up the stairs to her old nursery.

She knocked on the door which was opened by a nanny.

"How are they doing?" Gwen asked her.

"They're just fine." The nanny answered.

"This is their father," Gwen introduced Ethan. "He is here to see them."

The nanny slow backed up, further opening the door to the cheerful playroom inside.

He saw Jane on the floor, playing with another little girl who had her back turned to him. She had glossy black hair.

"Children," Gwen called them. "Your father's here."

Jane got up and ran to his outstretched arms, as the other little girl got up and turned around to follow her lead.

Ethan felt the breath knocked out of him as he stared into two sets of identical blue eyes. His eyes. Both girls had his eyes. It was obvious that these children were related to each other. They were similar, but also different as day and night. As different as their mothers, he realized. Why had he never seen Jane's obvious resemblance to Gwen before this?

"How can this be?" Ethan breathed, feeling dizzy.

"This little girl is the real Jane Pilar Lopez-Fitzgerald Winthrop," Gwen informed him, indicating the little girl with blue-black hair with arched black eyebrows over sooty black eyelashes set in a pale olive face with rosy lips. "Theresa's biological daughter."

"Who have we been raising all this time?" Ethan asked.

"This is Jennifer Ashley Hotchkiss Winthrop," Gwen answered, indicating the little girl with golden blonde hair, round golden brown eyebrows over thick sable lashes set in a pale peachy face with coral lips. "My biological daughter."

"Gwen," Ethan remonstrated with her. "You weren't pregnant when these two little girls were born."

"No, I wasn't," Gwen agreed. "But my surrogate Heather Hooper was. She lied to me about losing my embryo and carried Jenny to term. Somehow Alistair switched my daughter for Theresa's after they were both born. She can tell you the rest of the story. To be honest, I wasn't interested in the gory details. All I cared about was proving that Jenny was mine and that Theresa had no right to her!"

"Do you think he made the switch at his private island after you kidnapped Jane from Harmony?" Ethan speculated.

"I don't know," Gwen answered. "Just seeing how much Jane looks like that - her mother, I don't see how I could have walked off with her like that. I mean, there's no denying whose daughter she is, is there?"

"You were in the advanced stages of psychosis," Ethan reminded her.

"I must have been," Gwen said dubiously.

Ethan stared at the girls in silence for a few more minutes.

He started as he heard Gwen's dispassionate voice.

"I have my own flesh and blood daughter now, so any guilt you may have felt over my childless state is no longer necessary. I'm in the process of divorcing you, so you are under no marital obligation to me. Not only is Theresa now footloose and fancy free - she's a rich Crane widow - but she also has a daughter by you. She shares a bond with you, too. She has the same claim on you as I do. Things are pretty much equal now, just like they were before I conceived Sarah and married you," Gwen reasoned.

"You said you wanted to reconcile with me," Gwen reminded him, "But that was before you got all this new information. So, with no guilt or obligation to influence your decision, the only and final word must come from the heart. It's time for some honesty," she continued tightly. "With these new circumstances, with all things being equal and the playing field now totally level between Theresa and me, do you still want me back? Do you still want to try again?"

Ethan opened his mouth, then stopped, his face filled with regret and dismay.

"Don't bother to answer," Gwen said sadly, observing his reaction with fatalistic resignation. "Your silence said it all. Your hesitation told me everything I need to know. I will not subject Jenny to everything you put me through all these years with that-. I do not know nor do I care how things stand with you and her. You have not, cannot, and will not fully commit to a family with me. I will not take you back, Ethan. You are free to take Jane and be with her mother."

"Gwen, I-I'm confused," Ethan hastened to explain. "Naturally I'm torn-"

"What you mean is that you are even more torn now than you usually are," Gwen said sarcastically. "Don't bother to explain, Ethan. Your decision is made. Even if I had to do it for you."

"Gwen, I do love you, it's just that I-"

"For the love of God, Ethan!" Gwen exclaimed, tears starting to her eyes "Will you just stop it? Can't you just ever quit? Just end it, all right?"

Both Jane and Jenny started to look uneasy and upset and anxious.

"That's all right, children," Gwen soothed. "We aren't fighting. It's fine now. Just go back and play with your toys. Daddy and I need to leave now and talk some business."

She motioned to Ethan and they both headed to the study, shutting the door firmly behind them.

"While I was introducing you to your new daughter, Leon set up with one of Father's secretaries in the study," Gwen informed him. "There he will take a statement from Heather who will then clear up how the girls were switched. He will have an amended custody order demanding sole custody of Jenny for me in exchange for sole custody of Jane for you. All you need to do is sign it and then you can take Jane back to her mother."

"I guess there's nothing else I can say to-" Ethan started to say.

"No, nothing at all," Gwen interrupted. "My mind is made up. I want- no, I need this divorce desperately, damn it. All I ask is that once you sign the papers, you wait outside in the car for Heather to bring Jane out to you. I don't want Jenny to be traumatized by some memory of a little girl who took her name and her father from her."

"You are going to let me see Ja-Jenny, aren't you Gwen," Ethan wondered.

"Not for a while," Gwen said. "I want Jenny to get comfortable with her new name and I want her to get used to not having you in her life all the time anymore. Hopefully she is too young to remember living with you and will eventually understand that you always had another daughter named Jane. Once she gets used to her new identity and Jane is settled with you and Theresa, maybe with another baby or two, I'll permit limited visitation. I imagine that Theresa will be eager for both of you to make up for lost time with Jane and won't be in any type of hurry to deal with me or my offspring again."

"Gwen, you know Theresa loves her-" Ethan started to protest.

"That's because she thought Jenny was hers," Gwen reminded him. "She's mine, now."

"I still think you are being too hard on Theresa," Ethan said stubbornly.

"You always did, Ethan."

"They're ready for you, Mrs. Winthrop," Jonathan's secretary said, as she opened the door to Jonathan's study.

"Good," Gwen smiled, nodding politely at the woman. "Ethan and I are ready, too. Right, Ethan?"

"If you say so, Gwen."

"I do."

Ethan held the door open for Gwen as she passed through the portal, shutting the door behind them both and closing the book on what had become a very long and excruciatingly painful chapter in her life.


	12. Wrapping It Up

As the door shut behind them, Ethan noticed indeed that Leon Feldman, that meticulously organized legal eagle he had always dreaded facing in court, was set up in Jonathan's study as if it were his own office and secretary at his disposal.

"Ahh, Ethan, Gwen. There you are," Leon said. "Sit down while Mary transcribes Mrs. Hooper's deposition," he continued, indicating Jonathan's secretary. "This should be some interesting information she has to share," he finished dryly.

Ethan and Gwen exchanged brief glances, but sat down. The chairs were side by side, but the distance between them was palpable now that the matter of where Ethan stood had been acknowledged by both of them.

He wants to get as far away from me as I do from him, Gwen thought to herself, hollowly. She wondered how it was possible, after all these years with Ethan, that he could feel like such a total stranger to her?

"Mrs. Hooper, it has already been outlined how we discovered that Jennifer Ashley Hotchkiss Winthrop was in Gwyneth Hotchkiss' custody all along. Whose child is Jennifer?" Leon asked.

"She's the daughter of Gwyneth Hotchkiss and Ethan Winthrop," Heather answered.

"And how do you know this?" Leon asked.

"Because I was the surrogate who carried Ms. Hotchkiss' embryo and I gave birth to her, Heather answered.

"What is the name of the child that was found in your care?" Leon asked.

"Jane Pilar Lopez-Fitzgerald Winthrop," Heather answered.

"And whose child is she?"

"She's the daughter of Theresa Lopez-Fitzgerald and Ethan Winthrop," Heather answered.

"And how do you know this?" Leon asked.

"Because I was the one who took her and replaced her with Jennifer," Heather answered.

"Why did you exchange these children?" Leon asked.

"I did this at the orders of Alistair Crane," Heather answered. "He kept threatening me, from the very beginning, if I didn't go along with what he wanted."

"How did he threaten you?" Leon asked

"My husband, James, had a cocaine habit and stole some money from the company he worked for. We had to sell our son on the black market to a wealthy couple for a nice amount of money to make up for it, but it wasn't enough. We figured if selling Jimmy got us that much, I could have another one and sell it. That's how I got into this surrogacy program to begin with. I figured what the Winthrops would pay me would make up the rest. Mr. Crane threatened us with sending James to jail for embezzlement if we didn't go along with his program. He paid me to switch Jenny out for Jane and then to raise Jane." Heather replied.

"When did you do this and where? How did you exchange Jane with Jenny?"

"A couple of days after both children were born. That's when it was felt the switch would be the least noticeable. Aside from a slight difference in coloring, they were very similar in size and appearance," Heather explained.

"How did Mr. Crane expect Ms. Lopez-Fitzgerald not to notice the change in her child's appearance?" Leon asked.

"She knocked me out, tied me up and stuffed me into a closet to have herself planted with Mrs. Winthrop's embryo. She was arrested, but never charged with assault and kidnapping. Mr. Crane made sure the paperwork was put on hold throughout her pregnancy. She thought Mr. Winthrop had those charges dropped at the same time the charges for stealing Mrs. Winthrop's embryos were dropped. But Mr. Crane had a big surprise for her. Once Jane was born, the paperwork would be found, she'd be arrested and put in jail without bail until her trial." Heather answered. "Babies change a lot in the first month and he figured she'd put it down to that."

"Why did he arrange this?" Leon asked.

"Mr. Crane wanted control of her son, Little Ethan. Once she was in jail, he was going to go after sole custody of his grandson. He knew that Mr. Winthrop was so mad over his boy being aborted, he planned to force her to honor the surrogacy contract she signed to keep from being charged over stealing Mrs. Winthrop's embryos. "

"So then what happened?" Leon pressed.

"I snuck into the hospital with Jenny, disguised as a nurse in the maternity ward. Ms. Lopez-Fitzgerald was there, visiting her baby. Once she left, I switched the babies in the bassinette. Then I wrapped Jane in a blue blanket and took her out of the ward, heading toward the private rooms like I was taking a little boy to his mother. Heather continued. "In the meantime, Mrs. Winthrop stabbed Ms. Lopez-Fitzgerald in the back with a scalpel. I took advantage of all hell breaking loose over it to sneak out of the hospital with Jane. I put her in a large carrying case and walked out with her, right under the nose of all those cops who came pouring into the hospital. They didn't notice me at all as I got into my car and drove off. Why would they? I didn't try to kill anybody!"

"That had to put quite a wrench in the works," Ethan commented. "The wrong woman got arrested!"

"Yeah," Heather agreed. "But that Mr. Crane always had a backup plan. When Mrs. Winthrop got arrested for stabbing that Lopez-Fitzgerald girl in the back after she found out Jane was her daughter, he bribed a hospital records technician to change Mrs. Winthrop's medication information."

"Why did he do that?" Leon asked.

"He wanted to give Mrs. Winthrop an obvious medical excuse to keep her from going to prison," Heather answered. "If it could be proved that she had a bad drug interaction that made her behave that way, she'd get out of jail free!"

"Gwyneth was not psychotic when she stabbed this young woman?" Jonathan gasped.

"No, she wasn't," Heather replied. "She had only been given a mild sedative that would put her to sleep for a while."

Everyone else in the room stared hard at Heather, then at her as Gwen chuckled out loud.

"I never felt drugged," Gwen finally admitted quietly. "To me it was not any different than any of the other times I wanted to kill that bitch!"

"Eve testified that Gwen had accidentally been given the wrong drug as a sedative which caused a psychotic reaction," Ethan explained.

"You mean you stabbed another woman in the back in cold blood?" Jonathan asked, aghast.

"Guilty as sin," Gwen marveled. "And I actually got off on it, in more ways than one! What a great country!"

"You feel no remorse for-"

"None whatsoever," Gwen snapped. "Don't even expect me to go there, Father!"

"But still, one would think Gwyneth would end up in psychiatric care-" Jonathan said, with a worried frown at his daughter.

"She was about to be shipped off to Meadowbrook Sanitarium for evaluation, but Mr. Crane helped her kidnap Jenny and escape to his private island," Heather elaborated. "Like I said, he was very interested in everything that happened with the Winthrops and Ms. Lopez-Fitzgerald. He wanted to get control of that boy, that's why."

"This deposition should be enough for you and Ms. Lopez-Fitzgerald to prove that Jane is your daughter by her, but it never hurts to get DNA testing done," Leon said. "To arrange the expedient return of Jane back to her real mother, I've drawn up an amended custody order which gives Gwen sole custody of Jenny and you sole custody of Jane. That way we bypass the court and make it look like a private custody agreement worked out in an amicable divorce. Gwen, of course, nominally remains Jane's adoptive mother until you and Ms. Lopez-Fitzgerald can go to court and rescind her adoption of your daughter. I assume you'll do that after you're both married. You may wonder why we did it this way? Well, I'll tell you. If Gwen simply puts in a request to rescind the adoption, she would have to deliver Jane to court and leave her to their custody as a ward of the court."

"You won custody of Jane, because you were married to Gwen and could prove that you could provide a stable home with a live-in caretaker in your wife," Leon elaborated. "Since then, your circumstances have changed. You are in the process of divorcing Gwen. Due to her unstable behavior in the past, it is highly unlikely that the court would hand Jane over to her mother right away. Furthermore, you have never fostered the parental relationship with Jane that you did with Jenny. The court would most likely be loath to hand Jane over to you right away. I think you would only get Jane back after the court did a thorough investigation of your situation, Ethan. Then they would seek to gradually acclimate her to your care. This process could take several weeks if not months to be completed. That is why it is better that Jane be put in your immediate and full control rather than wait to have her fate decided by the courts."

"You're right," Ethan conceded, nodding decidedly. "This is the best and quickest way to handle this."

"Very well," Leon concluded. "You and Gwen sign here and here and here. Also initial these paragraphs."

Gwen and Ethan stood up, walked over to the desk and did as Leon bade them.

"Well," Ethan said awkwardly, turning his face to Gwen, but refusing to meet her eyes. "I need to take Jane and go back to Harmony."

"You do that, Ethan," Gwen agreed. "But remember our arrangement. You wait outside in your car for Heather to bring Jane out to you. I do not want Jenny to be traumatized over a little girl who took her name and her father, too."

"All right, Gwen," Ethan shrugged and headed out the door.

In silence, Gwen and Heather ascended the stairway and headed to the nursery as Arthur took Heather's luggage and headed out the door to put it in Ethan's car.

At the nursery, the little girls were still playing with each other. They were too intent on their little game and each other to notice the adults. They were talking in that odd mixture of regular talk and baby talk that children engaged in at that age.

"How have they been doing?" Gwen asked the attendant.

"Oh, right now they are getting along like a house on fire," she answered. "But otherwise, they've been typical kids. Best buddies one minute, fighting like cats and dogs the next, but I think they actually really love each other."

"Jane, it's time to go bye-bye," Heather said reaching out for her.

"Jenny, tell Jane bye-bye," Gwen told her daughter.

Both little girls' look of dismay and alarm was virtually identical. Their little lips quivered in disappointment.

"Bye, bye," Jenny said sadly, her eyes welling up with tears.

"Bye, bye," Jane answered, her eyes tearing up, too. She waved bravely.

The two girls looked like they were about to start wailing.

"Don't worry," Gwen reassured them both. "You'll see each other again."

Jane clutched her Dalmatian puppy as Heather picked her up and left the room.

Gwen talked to the nursery attendant a little bit longer, thanking her for taking such good care of the little girls, and handing her a generous check she had written out in advance of this moment as a bonus. The grateful nanny thanked Gwen profusely. Gwen asked her about future work and she was very interested in working for her again.

Gwen looked out the window as Heather and Jane joined Ethan who was standing by his car. Arthur put in the new car seat that Jonathan had ordered, securing it in the back seat and Heather put Jane inside it. They all got inside and Ethan started his vehicle and drove out of Jonathan's long, winding driveway to head back to Harmony.

Gwen then went to Jenny and picked her up. Jenny was already getting tired and by the time she made her way down to Jonathan's study to bid him goodnight, the little girl was already asleep from all the excitement.

"Well, thank God its over!" Jonathan said fervently.

"Yes, thank God," Gwen agreed numbly, giving Jonathan a wan smile.

"I know you don't think so now, but it is a good thing you are finally free of that man," Jonathan continued doggedly. "I don't like the effect Ethan has on you. It's toxic!"

"It's not Ethan. It's Theresa," Gwen argued.

"No, it's Ethan."

"I disagree," Gwen said stubbornly. "In any case we can agree that it's great now that it's over. Jane is on her way back to her real mother. Jenny is with me forever now and Jon-Louis is safe."

"Fine, Gwyneth," Jonathan pressed. "But I want you to consider the possibility that Ethan was never the man you thought he was."

Suddenly a poignant memory overwhelmed Gwen.

_**It was back at a school mix abroad in Switzerland. She had attended an all-girl's seminary and Ethan was attending an all boy's seminary. The schools were on either side of the picturesque little town. It was there she met with Ethan. He had asked her to dance. She had excused herself to powder her nose. When she came up behind them, she heard another boy talking about her with Ethan.**_

_**"I can't believe you danced with Butter," the boy commented to Ethan.**_

_**"Butter?" Ethan echoed, genuinely puzzled.**_

_**"Great rack, nice ass, but her face!" The boy dismissed her with brutal jocularity. "All she's good for is a quick screw beneath the bleachers ... if you put a paper bag over her head!"**_

_**Mortified, Gwen had wanted to shrivel up and die on the spot.**_

_**"Her name is Gwen," Ethan answered shortly. "And I think she's pretty, especially when she smiles. I really like her a lot!"**_

_**"You would," the other boy sneered. "But her mom, who's a big time slut, is a lot hotter than she is!"**_

_**"You're a moron, Brett," Ethan snapped and then walked off.**_

_**It was that moment that Gwen had fallen in love with Ethan.**_

_**He was her shining, loving prince in that cold, cruel upper elite world of snobbish, pampered social toads like Brett and the other boys. She did anything and everything to win his high regard.**_

_**To that end, she straightened her nose, she capped her teeth, she saw the best dermatologists in the world to clear up her acne. She saw a stylist who changed the way she dressed. And, when her newly divorced mother started cutting a swathe through the married men of that world, she saw a colorist who dyed her hair from the auburn it was to a cool, patrician blonde. **_

_**She never wanted to be an embarrassment or a source of ridicule to him with his friends. She wanted to be worthy of him.**_

"No, it's Theresa," Gwen said shortly, snapping back to the present. "Ethan changed when he met her. He used to love me until she slithered into our lives, like the lying little snake she is."

"You were his first love," Jonathan commented. "But that love could not withstand the challenge of another girl entering the picture. Both your mothers set this up. It was like he was groomed to be with you as much as you were with him."

"So?" Gwen asked bewildered.

"Ethan was never given the opportunity to expand his romantic horizons by dating lots of different girls," Jonathan remarked. "You were his first love. This Theresa is only his second. Remember that and then move on with your life."

"I don't understand what you mean," Gwen said angrily. "Who cares that I was his first love and Theresa is his second? We would have been happily married all these years if not for her. I'm supposed to take comfort in the ordering of this thing?! I don't get it!"

"Gwen," Jonathan snapped. "You are blinded by your obsession - yes, your obsession with this young woman. Sometimes, I think your passion for Theresa is greater than your love for Ethan!"

"Just what are you implying?" Gwen screeched indignantly.

"Not what you are inferring," Jonathan retorted.

"I'm relieved to hear it," Gwen snapped. "Because I was about to vomit in my mouth. Let's just drop the subject, okay? Ethan's got Jane and he's no doubt going to marry Theresa, whether I like it or not. It will be a lot easier to accept it and move on if I never have to hear their names again. So, let's just agree to disagree where Ethan is concerned and never mention his name again, all right?"

"Fine with me," Jonathan said. "Ethan is a non-topic with me."

"Great," Gwen said. "I love you, Father. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a new son to tend to and a sleepy daughter to get to bed. Bye."

Gwen walked out to her car and put Jenny in her car seat and then drove out of Jonathan's driveway, turning right up the street to the picturesque avenue leading to her townhouse by the park. Ethan, no doubt, had driven in the opposite direction to make a left on the turnpike that would take him and Jane back to Harmony to be with the woman he loved and her son.

Must be nice to have someone all lined up like that, Gwen thought, wondering if she would spend the rest of her life alone. Oh well, she concluded, I'm probably better off that way, as she pulled into the garage of her townhouse where Luis and Jon-Louis awaited her and Jennifer's return.


	13. Slow Deadly Poison

Theresa was at her desk at Crane, busily reading various reports and signing off on different requests before she headed home for the day when her telephone rang.

"Hello," Theresa answered briskly.

"Theresa, it's Ethan. Please don't hang up," Ethan said quickly.

"What do you want, Ethan?" Theresa asked coolly. "If you are calling me to beg me for another chance, forget about it. You cannot move back into Crane House. And, whether you like it or not, I'm going to allow to allow Jared to adopt Little Ethan. He's my husband and he wants to be a father to my sole remaining child. Julian is okay with it, too, so-"

"Theresa, I went to Boston to see Gwen. I'm on my way back to Harmony and I've got Jane with me," Ethan interrupted her.

"What?!" Theresa exclaimed. She could not believe her ears. There was no way in hell that Gwen would ever tamely hand over Jane just on Ethan's request!

"You heard me," Ethan said shortly. "I've got Jane with me and I'm bringing her home."

"I don't believe you!" Theresa remarked, in spite of herself.

"It's true," Ethan retorted. "When you see Jane, you'll understand why. Look, I don't want to go into this over the phone with you. I just want you to be at home when I arrive at the Crane House in about another hour, all right?"

"Okay," Theresa agreed, filled with curiosity.

After they both hung up, Theresa called Jared.

"Casey," Jared said as he answered the phone.

"Jared, it's me," Theresa said. "I'm calling to let you know that I'm having the Crane chauffeur pick me up, because I'm heading home early. That means I won't be riding home with you."

"That's just as well, Tess," Jared answered. "I was about to tell you that this project I'm working on is going into overtime and you should probably go home without me."

"Okay," Theresa responded. "I'll see you when I see you. I love you, Jared."

"Ditto," Jared said teasingly, before they both hung up.

Theresa then called the chauffeur who wasted no time in picking her up and bringing her back home to the Crane House.

As Theresa walked through the door, she was met by her mother who was not used to her coming home at this early an hour.

"You're home early," Pilar commented. "What's the matter, mija?"

"Ethan called, telling me he wants me to be waiting for him when he returns to Harmony in about an hour. He says he has Jane with him," Theresa answered.

"Jane?" Pilar asked. "I cannot imagine where that woman Gwen would return Jane after all the trouble she went through to take her away from us."

"Yet Ethan swears that she did," Theresa replied. "Why would Ethan lie?"

"I can't think of a reason for Ethan to lie," Pilar fretted. "I just hope there's nothing wrong with Jane. I can't imagine any other reason for Gwen to give her back to us."

"Me either," Theresa worried.

"We'll just have to wait and see," Pilar said, before excusing herself to oversee some work being done in the kitchen.

Theresa stayed in the living room, pacing back and forth, anxiously awaiting Ethan's return so she could see her daughter again, intently listening for his car in the driveway to the Crane House.

After what seemed like forever, Theresa finally heard Ethan's car turn into the long, winding driveway, to head up the hill to the Crane House. She wanted to run out there to meet him outside, but the intensity of her emotion kept her feet rooted to the ground. All she could do is stand there, facing the door, like a statue, with bated breath.

Another eternity passed before the door swung open. Ethan was carrying a small child in a royal blue outfit and hoodie.

Theresa noticed that this was not a color Gwen usually dressed Jane in and marveled at the absurd, irrelevant thought that went through her head at a time like this.

"Oh my God!" Theresa cried. "Jane!"

The little girl turned to look at her with familiar blue eyes peeping out of a little face that Theresa had never seen before.

"That's not my daughter-!" Theresa started to exclaim.

But it was. It was her daughter staring back at her. The daughter she had imagined Jane would look like as she carried her when she found out that her little girl had survived the selective termination, not Gwen's little boy. Theresa drank in the arching black eyebrows, the lush black eyelashes and the shiny blue-black hair framing the light olive little face.

"That's not Jane!" Theresa gasped.

"But it is," Ethan said quietly, smiling at her joyously.

"Ethan," Theresa protested. "That's not the little girl that Gwen left Harmony with!"

"No," Ethan confirmed, "It isn't. But this is your daughter, Theresa. This is your little girl. This is the real Jane Pilar Lopez-Fitzgerald Winthrop!"

"Then whose little girl did Gwen leave with?" Theresa demanded, feeling like the moment was surreal, like a dream.

"Her own little girl," Ethan answered. "The baby she hired her surrogate, Heather Hooper to carry."

It was then that Theresa took a closer look at the vaguely familiar woman who had followed Ethan into Crane House.

"B-but Gwen told me you lost her embryo, because it wasn't viable," Theresa remarked. She remembered that moment all too well when an angry, distraught Gwen had confronted her with all sorts of wild accusations. Gwen thought Theresa was either faking her pregnancy or trying to pass off her own baby with Fox as Gwen and Ethan's child.

"Mr. Crane forced me and the doctor to lie to Mrs. Winthrop," Heather answered.

"Alistair also forced Heather to sneak into Harmony Hospital, disguised as a maternity ward nurse and switch out your daughter for Gwen's," Ethan added.

"But why do that?" Theresa asked. "Why didn't he just keep Jane where she was?"

"Mr. Crane noticed that your daughter was darker than Mrs. Winthrop's daughter. He was afraid that, as time went by, Jane would look like you, or 'look Spic,' as he put it," Heather elaborated. "He knew that Mr. Winthrop was going to make you honor that surrogacy contract you signed to stay out of jail and the last thing he wanted was for Mrs. Winthrop to reject Jane, because she looked too much like you."

"So you've been taking care of my daughter all this time?" Theresa enquired. "I can't believe Alistair simply didn't have you sell Jane to a wealthy couple."

"Yes," Heather admitted. "Mr. Crane paid me to keep her, so he could control her whereabouts just in case something happened to prove that the little girl the Winthrops were raising was really Mrs. Winthrop's all along. He wanted to be able to produce the real Jane at a moment's notice."

"But why?" Theresa demanded.

"He wanted a bargaining chip. He wanted you to be so desperate that you'd agree to anything he wanted. What he wanted was your son, Little Ethan. He figured losing Jane would make you so crazy, you'd come to him for help. He also figured that dangling the whereabouts of the real Jane under your nose, should the situation call for it, was another good way of controlling you," Heather explained.

"Then it's true?" Theresa asked Ethan, quivering with emotion. "That's my daughter … that's Jane you are returning to me?"

"It's true, Theresa." Ethan responded, smiling broadly.

"Oh, Jane," Theresa breathed. "I'm your mama!"

Jane looked uncertainly at Heather, slightly afraid.

"That's okay, Jane," Heather said. "Remember how I always told you I'm not your real mommy? That you'd meet your real mom one day? Well, this pretty lady is your real mom. She loves you."

Jane's big blue eyes searched Theresa's big brown eyes as if looking to find the truth of Heather's statement.

"Mama?" Jane asked.

"That's right, Jane," Theresa answered emotionally. "I'm your real mama!"

Tears welling in her beautiful eyes, Theresa instinctively opened her arms to Jane who tumbled into them from Ethan's hands without hesitation.

Clutching her stuffed animal, Jane nestled against her as Theresa ran her fingers over her daughter's silky hair and soft, satiny skin where the tiny pulse seemed to leap up under her touch. It was amazing. The bond she had felt when Jane was first born was still strong as ever. The bond that she believed had been forever broken after Gwen had kidnapped Jane and taken her from Harmony only to return a baby that felt like a little stranger to her. Because she was. That was Gwen's flesh and blood, not her daughter, Jane.

Theresa breathed in the fresh, clean baby smell of her little girl, marveling at the miracle of being reunited with her this way. Jane's favorite toy was so clean and her outfit was obviously new. It was obvious that Heather had loved Jane. Relief over how well Heather had cared for her daughter in her own absence just overwhelmed Theresa.

"Thank you for taking such good care of my little girl," Theresa gratefully gushed to Heather.

"You're welcome," Heather said. "Jane is such a good kid that she was a joy to be with. I bought her a new outfit and let her keep her favorite toy when I found out she was being sent back to you. I figured that you would want to pick her clothes and buy her toys yourself now that you had her."

"Oh, I do, I do," Theresa reassured her happily. "There are so many things I want to do for my baby now that I have her back. I've missed too many milestones as it is. I thought Gwen witnessed them all. Speaking of Gwen, I imagine she is happy as hell to call her baby something else. She always hated Jane's name. What is she calling Ja-her little girl now, Ethan?"

"Jennifer." Ethan answered.

"Jennifer?" Theresa echoed. "But I thought she was hell bent on naming her daughter Ashley1"

"Ashley is her middle name. Gwen is calling her Jenny for short. She used to call her Janie when she was sick or hurt or upset. I imagine she settled on something that sounded close as not to confuse her," Ethan speculated.

"Jennifer Ashley Hotchkiss-Winthrop," Theresa said aloud, mockingly testing the name on her tongue. "Sounds very snobbish and elite, just like her mother, Gwyneth."

"Theresa," Ethan chided reprovingly. "Gwen was the one who found your real daughter. You should be grateful to her, so how about staying off her case, all right?"

"Okay," Theresa agreed grudgingly.

"I'm going to call Mother and Sam and Fox and Fancy to let them know that Jane - the real Jane - is home," Ethan told her. He left the room.

A few minutes later, Pilar came bursting into the room.

"Theresa, I met Ethan on the way to the library and he told me that Jane is here-" Pilar broke off as she stared at the little girl in Theresa's arms. "That's not my granddaughter!" She gasped.

"Oh, but it is, Mama," Theresa smiled as Jane stared at Pilar whose reaction was identical to Theresa's when she first beheld her. That was her flesh and blood granddaughter in her daughter's arms. There was no denying it; she'd know that little girl anywhere.

"But, she doesn't look like the little girl Gwen left Harmony with," Pilar protested.

"That's because she isn't," Theresa answered. "That was her own biological daughter, Jenny. Alistair forced Heather Hooper to carry Jenny in secret and then switch her in the hospital after Gwen stabbed me in the back with that scalpel. It was Jenny that Gwen kidnapped from Harmony. It was Jenny that Gwen adopted from me. It was Jenny that Gwen took to Boston with her. Not Jane. Not my daughter!"

"Because he wanted to get Little Ethan?" Pilar guessed.

"Yes, Mama," Theresa confirmed. "Ethan says that Gwen found our Jane with Heather. That's why she called Hank and Luis to Birmingham. She wanted to prove that Jenny wasn't mine!"

"Well, thank God, she did!" Pilar exulted.

"Yes, thank God!" Theresa echoed fervently. "I guess I owe her one. Oh well, as much as I dislike that bitch, I can be happy for her now that she has her own daughter. I guess she's happy for me, too, now that we have nothing to fight over."

Here, Heather saw her chance.

"Oh, no she's not!" Heather exclaimed as both women stared at her intently.

There was a long silence, which Heather allowed to remain unbroken for dramatic effect.

"What do you mean by that?" Theresa finally demanded.

"Mrs. Winthrop said she could never be happy knowing you were happy, too!"

"Oh," Theresa said dismissively. "That sure sounds like our Gwennie. Well, it sucks being her, don't it? It's not like she can do anything about it!"

"Oh yes, she can," Heather said.

"What do you mean by that?" Theresa repeated.

"She's still Jane's adoptive mother of record," Heather warned. "I was there when she met with her lawyer and heard him tell her that."

"But-but she still sent Jane back," Theresa stammered. "That means she isn't Jane's adoptive mother anymore."

"Oh yes, she is," Heather insisted. "I was there when Mr. Winthrop came to get her and all she did was transfer sole custody of Jane over to him. Her lawyer explained that it was the quickest way to send Jane home. Otherwise, she'd have to turn her over to the custody of the family court. I'll tell ya I was worried," Heather continued. "Because she seemed hell bent on keeping that little girl to punish you for that nasty trick you played on her with her boy, Nathan."

"I don't believe you!" Theresa cried involuntarily.

"Would you believe the pictures of your kid she told me to give you in Jane's place?" Heather asked, pulling them out of her purse and handing them to Theresa.

Theresa saw the first picture of Jane holding hands with Jenny. She looked so happy that Theresa smiled at the sweet tableau they made, in spite of her worry over Heather's warnings. Then she looked at the second picture of Jane in that malicious witch's talons. Gwen was smiling evilly at Theresa with hatred and venom just pouring out of her cold, black eyes. Jane definitely didn't look happy there. Theresa shuddered in spite of herself.

Pilar looked at them, too and crossed herself as if warding off the devil.

"Madre de Dios," she breathed, upon viewing them. "I wonder what made her change her mind?"

"I think her father did," Heather answered. "With a little help from your brother. Mr. Hotchkiss knew Mrs. Winthrop considered your brother a good friend and arranged a private dinner for them. He said that if she could see Jane as Mr. Lopez-Fitzgerald's niece instead of your daughter, she might let her go home. I guess it worked, because when she came back a couple of days later, she was hell-bent on sending Jane home."

"Thank God for Luis!" Pilar said fervently. "Whatever he told her must have changed her mind!"

"Yes, thank God," Theresa echoed, but she was still troubled. She knew how vindictive Gwen could be, but what worried her more was that she was also impulsive when she was irritated. Who was to say what fit of spite could cause Gwen to "reclaim" Jane?

As if reading and confirming her thoughts, Heather warned, "You want to do everything you can to keep that little girl of yours away from Mrs. Winthrop. She can't stand Jane. She hates her for being the reason that Nathan was aborted. I'd do whatever it takes to get her name off Jane's adoption papers as quickly as possible if I were you."

"Mama, why don't you see Heather to her room," Theresa told Pilar, clutching Jane very protectively against her heart. "Thank you, Mrs. Hooper, I'll have a big check ready and waiting for you when you leave Harmony. Thank you for protecting Jane so well."

Heather smiled in satisfaction as she left the room. She knew that Mrs. Winthrop was only venting a little steam when she threatened to keep Jane to punish Theresa. There was no way she was going to disappoint her fine-looking friend, Mr. Lopez-Fitzgerald. Heather suspected Mrs. Winthrop had a thing for him. But Mrs. Theresa Crane Casey didn't need to know that or anything else. It was obvious that the woman believed Heather had cleaned Jane up, bought her that new outfit and gave her that toy. Well, Heather was just going to continue letting her believe that. It made no sense telling Jane's mother that her worst enemy had cleaned Jane up, bought her a new toy and dressed her up in new clothes. There wasn't much money to be expected from a calm woman. But there was a huge payoff coming from a terrified mother, frantic to protect her baby girl from an abusive witch. Yeah, this Theresa Crane Casey would pay through the nose to keep Heather happy and willing to testify in any custody action for Jane.

"Goodnight, ma'am," Heather said, as Theresa's trembling legs gave out from under her and she flopped on the couch into a protective huddle with Jane.


	14. Beginnings and Endings

Gwen entered her townhouse, with Jenny in her arms, only to find Luis the way she left him, in the living room, holding Jon-Louis. Only he had a slightly bemused smile on his face. Getting suspicious, Gwen walked over to the nearby bassinette and looked inside and sniffed.

"This bassinette doesn't look like it has been slept in at all since we brought the baby home," Gwen remarked. "Not only that but it still has its 'new store' smell. Has that boy lain in it at all?"

"Uh, no," Luis replied, looking a little sheepishly at her and then glancing somewhat ruefully down at his partial namesake, Jon Louis, "He kept waking up every time I tried to put him down. I'd think I finally had him asleep. But when I would stand over the bassinette and even start to put him inside, he'd open one eye and look at me, like, 'What do you think you're doing, Dude?' Finally, I gave up. I told him I'd hold him until you got home and he's been sleeping soundly as a baby- well soundly ever since."

"Are you serious?" Gwen laughed.

"I am," Luis answered. "I even took him with me into the bathroom- don't worry, I still managed to wash and dry my hands. That kid never woke up. He was happy as a clam."

"I see that he has you trained," Gwen remarked. "It took him no time to wrap you around his little finger."

"Guilty as charged," Luis grinned. "But I don't mind. In fact, I rather like it."

Gwen chuckled and looked away only to see a beautiful bouquet of pink and white roses and gasped in appreciation.

"Oh, my God, Luis," Gwen said. "They're beautiful. Who are they from?"

"Me." Luis answered simply. "When I left you at the hospital, I saw the florist on the way back to Jonathan's and the displays. That's when I remembered you didn't get any flowers, but then with the joy and excitement of the baby, I figured you wouldn't even notice them, there, anyway. So, I decided I'd have them waiting for you in your new home when you got done wrapping it all up with Ethan. I figured you'd need it then."

"Oh, so you did it, because you felt sorry for me?" Gwen asked, chagrined at being the object of his pity.

"No!" Luis exclaimed earnestly. "Oh, hell no! Leaving Ethan is the most sensible and self-preserving thing you ever did for yourself, Gwen! It's just that I've been there, done that with Sheridan. It's not easy letting go of someone you have loved and in whom you have all your emotional focus invested in for years isn't easy. It's awfully difficult. It was terribly hard for me and I wasn't with Sheridan half as long as you were with Ethan."

"Really?" Gwen asked dubiously. "This isn't some sort of lame consolation prize?"

"Really." Luis answered firmly. "This is to symbolize your victory, Gwen. You thought you could never have children of your own! Well, in one fell swoop, you've got Jenny and Jon-Louis! This is to also celebrate your great new beginnings. Knowing you, you're going to be back working with your father, who is a great businessman! You've got this beautiful townhouse in this historic old town of Boston - I've always wanted to live here, myself, because I'm a bit of a history buff! By the way, did you know that okay an American word?"

"An American word?" Gwen echoed stupidly, taken aback by his abrupt change of subject and not knowing where he was going with this.

"Okay." Luis stressed the word. "Back when the Americans were fighting the British in the War for Independence, they would send casualty reports in shorthand back to command. If five people were killed, they'd write the number five and the letter k for killed on whatever they could write on. If they took no casualties, they'd write the letter o or number zero with the letter k. Everything was okay because no one got hurt or killed, which in wartime, is great!"

"Okay," Gwen said uncertainly. "But I'm not sure what this means to my situation."

"It means that you managed to achieve all this with no one getting hurt," Luis explained, waving his free hand around the inside of her lovely home. "It means you're a winner, Gwen!"

"Thanks," Gwen said bashfully, feeling both heartened and gratified by his earnest, effusive praise. But embarrassed, too. This was not what she was used to. She hastily changed the subject. "I don't know about you, but I'm getting hungry, so if you don't mind watching Jenny as well as holding the baby, I'll go into the kitchen and see what I can put together for us."

"No, you won't," Luis ordered forcefully with a twinkle in his eyes as Gwen's eyebrows shot up at his bossy manner. "You will not be cooking tonight. Jonathan called to let me know you were on the way home. I figured the last thing you needed to worry about was slaving over a hot stove. So I asked him what your favorite restaurant was and what you liked to eat. A caterer is on his way from The Emerald with a delivery."

"Wow! Curbside service!" Gwen laughed. As if on cue the doorbell rang and when she opened it, there was the caterer, ready to set up.

Luis and Gwen and Jenny sat down to a fine repast of Irish Continental cuisine. They then retreated back to living room to watch some television together as the caterer cleared the table and cleaned up. Luis handed off Jon-Louis to Gwen while Jenny decided it was her turn to be held by him, so she took Simba and crawled into his lap.

Jon-Louis started getting hungry. Gwen had decided to breast-feed him after he was born and felt a little strange about doing so in front of Louis. But, she figured, he had already seen her breasts-once and she was loath to leave this sense of family she was sharing with him. So, she self-consciously and surreptitiously adjusted herself to feed her son. The baby lustily latched onto her nipple and sucked ravenously, kneading his small fingers into the swollen breast tissue. Gwen snuck a glance out of the corner of her eye at Luis to gauge his reaction. He was watching her suckle Jon-Luis without any apparent discomfort. In fact he seemed to radiate his own sense of contentment, which surprised and pleased her.

It was that way that Hank Bennett found them all, sitting on the couch like a family when he arrived on her doorstep as the caterer was leaving. He stopped shortly and did a double take at the tableau they made. Gwen noticed his arrival with alarm and blushed scarlet when he stared at the baby at her breast.

"Hank!" Luis exclaimed. "I didn't know that you were coming here! Jonathan never mentioned it!"

"I never got a chance to talk to him," Hank answered, still staring at Gwen. "I finished up in Birmingham. I've been cleared by the investigation team where James Hooper is concerned and I came with your car to pick you up and take you back to Harmony."

"How did you find out my address?" Gwen asked tersely, rearranging herself now that the baby had finished nursing.

"Your new driver's license," Hank replied. "I figured you'd waste no time getting it changed to your new address and maiden name, so I ran it that way and got a hit. Uh, what's up with the new baby?"

"He's mine!" Gwen snapped.

"I can see that," Hank answered patiently. "I don't think you could nurse a baby you just adopted! Does Ethan know?"

"No, and I want to keep it that way!" Gwen bristled.

"I think Ethan has a right to know he has a new son!" Hank protested, as he took in the blue blanket.

"No, he doesn't!" Gwen retorted. "He can raise Theresa's son for all I care. My son is off limits to him!"

Hank took on a stubborn, determined look, so Gwen changed her stance.

"Please, Hank," Gwen pleaded. "It won't be forever. I promise you. I just want to hold off until after the divorce when they get married and after they have their own son, so she won't feel so threatened by him. Jenny is safe, because in Theresa's mind, she has Jane to cancel her out. Please, Hank. I've already lost Sarah and Nathan to that psycho, I don't want to lose Jon-Louis, too!"

"Jon-Louis?" Hank echoed, looking closely at the baby and staring hard at Luis.

Gwen flushed scarlet again as she read his thoughts.

"I named him after my father, Jonathan and his grandfather, Louis, who he is a dead ringer for," Gwen explained, gesturing to the double-framed old-fashioned photograph of her great-grandfather as a small boy and a grown man. While she had been waiting for Ethan to arrive, she had a photographer make her copies of her own. "But I'm glad that it turned out my grandfather was named Louis, because Luis was there to help when I went into labor and he supported me during delivery!"

"How could you two keep this pregnancy a secret from Etha-everybody?" Hank demanded.

"Look, it was a secret to both of us, too," Luis laughed. "Gwen didn't know she was pregnant, Hank. She was totally asymptomatic and you have to admit, she didn't look pregnant either. I didn't realize she was pregnant until she went into labor and the pains hit and she didn't believe it even then. She was arguing with me about it up until her water broke and she ended up in the delivery room. Believe me, it was a shocker!"

"I can imagine," Hank said dryly.

"Are you going to keep quiet, Hank? Gwen asked. "Please?"

Hank hesitated and looked unsure. He was very much a Bennett who was raised to believe in right and wrong and full disclosure, even if he had bent some rules of his own along the way as an undercover cop and FBI agent.

That is when Gwen went off on him.

"Damn you, Hank!" Gwen exclaimed. "If I have even an inkling that Ethan and Theresa know about my son, I will take my children and disappear where they can never find me! And I promise you, Ethan will never see him, ever! And he will never see Jenny again, ever! Do you hear me?!"

"Loud and clear, Gwen," Hank said laconically.

"Good." Gwen said shortly. "Now what is preferable to you? Ethan seeing both his children in a couple of years while they are still young enough to have a relationship with him? The whole while they've been raised in a stable environment with an unstressed mother and a grandfather just around the corner to help? Or Ethan never seeing his children, ever? The whole while they've been moved from pillar to post by a totally stressed mother with no support system? Your pick, Hank!"

"I see your point," Hank conceded. "I'll keep my mouth shut, Gwen."

"Thank you." Gwen said sardonically. "Are you hungry? We already had a caterer take care of us, but I'm sure there are some fresh leftovers I can heat up for you and some coffee if you would like it."

"Don't mind if I do," Hank said, getting comfortable in an armchair. "Can I hold my new nephew?" He asked, as Gwen was getting ready to hand Jon-Louis off to Luis.

Gwen was reluctant to let him, but didn't want to antagonize him. Silently she crossed over to him and put him into Hank's arms. Then she swiftly went to the kitchen to put something together for him.

Hank looked down at the baby who stared back up at him with solemn curiosity. Then he stared back at his best friend who watched him with the same expression.

"This kid may resemble Gwen's great-grandfather," Hank commented casually. "But he's a dead ringer for you, Buddy."

"I know," Luis said. "You'd be surprised how many people at the hospital thought I was the daddy."

"Are you?" Hank asked him.

"Am I what? Luis asked blankly.

"Are you this kid's father?" Hank pressed. "I've been getting this vibe between you and Gwen for months. Is there any chance … whatsoever … that you could be this little boy's father?"

"No man, no chance at all," Luis said flatly.

"Oh well, I should have known," Hank remarked. "That stick up her butt is too big for that snob to loosen up with any guy not her class. Not to mention she's got her head buried so far up Ethan's ass she wouldn't notice a rich guy, either!"

"Hank, I realize you don't like Gwen, but she's a close friend of mine," Luis reminded him testily. "If you knew her like I knew her, you wouldn't talk about her like that. She's a warm, loving woman and a loyal person, true blue to the end."

"Sorry, I forgot," Hank said somewhat contritely. "And I will admit that you're the only person that cold, phony snob seems like a human being around."

"I mean it, Hank!" Luis snapped. "I won't stand for you or anybody else disrespecting her in my presence. Ever. Especially while you're holding her son. If we have to, we can put the baby in the bassinette and 'discuss' this outside."

"Okay, okay," Hank said hastily. "I'm not interested in an ass-whooping from you!"

"You know what I think your problem is, man?" Luis snapped. "You're a reverse snob. You only dislike Gwen because she's rich and you think she's shallow."

"Look, I gave her the benefit of a doubt once. I asked her out. She blew me off, I guess, because I wasn't her class!" Hank bristled.

"Like, the only reason could have been because she was a snob?" Luis remarked. "Not because she was still hung up on a guy she'd been in love with for years. Not because she wasn't that into you? Because it's not like any regular girl has ever blown you off, is it?!"

"Okay, okay, I'll go with your judgment about Gwen." Hank said hastily. "Uh, are you sure that there's uh, no way that you-" he looked down again at the baby in his arms.

"I'm sure, okay?!" Luis exclaimed, as Gwen slipped into the room with Hank's food. "Why do you have to think I have to be sleeping with the woman to care anything for her?! If you ever saw the side of Gwen that I have, you'd be crazy about her, too!"

"Okay," Hank said. "I've never seen that side of her, so I'll take your word for it and I'm sorry I assumed the baby is yours. You have to admit the resemblance is uncanny!"

Gwen was eaten up with curiosity so she did not make her presence known.

"Yeah, I do," Luis admitted. "He does look a lot like me. But you want to know something, Hank? I wouldn't have minded at all if he were mine. I'd love to have more children and this time I've spent with Gwen and the kids has been great."

Gwen's heart started pounding rapidly at these words. She had been basking in that family feeling with Luis herself first with Jenny and Jane and now with Jenny and Jon-Louis and she found herself feeling more hopeful than anxious. Yes, the fallout with Fancy and particularly Sheridan wouldn't be pretty, but it almost seemed worth it.

"So, I guess that means that you're going to take the next step with Fancy," Hank assumed, shattering any of Gwen's illusions where a future with Luis was concerned.

"Yes," Luis confirmed. "When I get back to Harmony, I'm going to propose to Fancy. The one thing Gwen has helped me to see is how much I want to be a family man!"

Of course, Gwen thought, wanting to kick herself for giving into false expectations. He's been in love with Fancy for several weeks now. It only makes sense that he'd want to marry her. Gwen, you idiot! All he would ever see her is as a friend. She wanted to bawl her eyes out with sadness and mortification. But, not now. Not in front of Hank. She knew he had a low opinion of her. And not in front of Luis. Especially not in front of him.

It was time to gather the shredded remnants of her dignity together and try to hold her head up high. It was time to act with some class and be a gracious loser. All her social training came to bear and she detached into a socialite automaton with programmed social responses.

"Did I just hear you say you were going to propose to Fancy!" Gwen smiled, making a point of sweeping into the room with Hank's tray.

"Yes, you did!" Luis grinned. "I'm glad you're here to share my news. I couldn't think of a better way to do it than with my two best buddies in the world!"

"Congratulations, Dude!" Hank exclaimed as Gwen further composed herself by putting his tray of food on the ottoman in front of him and taking Jon-Louis from him.

Clutching her son closer to her heart, Gwen turned and faced Luis.

"Congratulations, Luis," Gwen echoed. "Please extend my warmest wishes to Fancy. She's a wonderful woman and I not only hope - I'm sure - that you two will be so happy and have beautiful children of your own together!"

"Thanks, Gwen!" Luis said as she sat back down beside him and gathered Jenny into her other arm for a snuggle. To both men, she looked the picture of a loving mother, but inside she felt small and abandoned and her son and daughter were like beloved, soft toys children used to comfort themselves. The adults made further conversation as Hank ate his food. Gwen automatically gave all the correct, smiling responses as she counted the seconds for them to leave. After what seemed like forever, the moment had come.

"Well, it's time to go," Hank said. "We'll swing by Jonathan's to pick up your stuff."

Gwen saw them to the door and Hank stood by as Luis swiftly embraced her and gave her a goodbye kiss on the cheek. She graciously stood on the stoop and smiled and waved as they sped off toward Harmony.

Her children were both sleepy, so she put them upstairs and put them to bed, then padded to her own bedroom, undressed, slipped into her own bed and stared up at the ceiling.

Alone again. Naturally.


	15. Missing Persons

Ethan had just finished calling both branches of his and Theresa's family to let them know Jane - the real Jane - was home. He had managed to reach everyone in person except his sister, Fancy. He just got her voice mail. That just left calling Julian. The man was not related to either him or Jane, but he had raised Ethan as his own, believing he was Ethan's father. Ethan thought he would want to know. Besides, Rebecca needed to know about Jane, too, because then she would know the little girl Gwen had been raising since infancy was her own flesh and blood granddaughter, Jennifer.

"Hello?" Julian answered. His voice sounded as it always did. Cultured, melodic, but jaded, much like its owner himself. Usually, he had classical music playing in the background, but this time, Ethan could distinctly hear the sound of jets taking off in the background.

"Julian, it's Ethan. Where are you right now?" Ethan asked curiously.

"I'm at the airport." Julian answered. "My charming wife, Rebecca and I are getting ready to board the Crane Jet for an extended tour of Europe."

"Europe?" Ethan echoed. "Why? Oh, never mind. Look, Julian. I have great news! I brought Jane home to Theresa. Actually, it's not the Jane you think she is, but-"

"I know." Julian cut him off. "That's why I'm on my way to Europe with Rebecca right now. Jonathan called to tell me about Jane … and Jennifer. Rebecca does not and will not know until we return from Europe. Jonathan dangled some sweet incentives underneath my nose to spirit Rebecca out of the country for a while and keep her in the dark about it until we get back."

"What?!" Ethan exclaimed. "Why would he do that?"

"He said he wants to give Gwen adequate time to herself with Jenny before Rebecca tries to pull her back into, as he calls it, 'that stupid, sordid triangle' with you and Theresa. He is hoping that Gwen will be fortified by enough peace and contentment she will be enjoying outside your 'ménage a trois' to refuse to be drawn back into it." Julian explained, then expounded. "Hopefully, by the time my charming wife and I return, both your divorces from your respective balls and chains will be finalized and you and Theresa will be married. In any case, Jonathan would prefer to present Rebecca 'un fait au accompli' when we return from Europe."

"I guess that makes sense," Ethan conceded. "In any case, I'm disappointed you're leaving town tonight, Julian. Theresa and I wanted to hold a celebration at Crane House for both sides of our family in honor of Jane's safe return. I know I'm not blood-related to either you or Sheridan, but she and Chris and their kids, James and Katie will be showing up. I'm not your real son, but you raised me since I was a baby and I look upon you as a father."

"I know and I'm deeply touched." Julian replied. "But I cannot back out of this agreement I made with Jonathan. Too much is riding on keeping him in a good humor. But when I return, you and I will go out for some drinks and some fine cigars to celebrate your new daughter."

"I understand." Ethan said. "I would be glad to celebrate with you later. I hope you and Rebecca have a safe trip."

Ethan tried to reach Fancy once more time, to no avail, to see if she had gotten his message. He was getting concerned. Her mailbox was full now and he couldn't leave another one. Usually she was pretty good about answering her messages as soon as she noticed them. Oh, well, he assumed that Luis must have returned by now and she was too wrapped up in him to notice.

Theresa was still holding Jane closely to her heart after hearing Heather's disturbing tale of the plans that Gwen initially had for Jane. The visuals displayed in the photographs that Gwen intended for Heather to give Theresa were even more chilling. What bothered Theresa even more was that, even though the child Gwen left town with was really her own flesh and blood biological daughter, Jenny, Gwen was still legally the mother of Theresa's flesh and blood biological daughter, Jane.

She was distracted as Jared rushed into the room, looking upset.

"Jared!" Theresa exclaimed. "What's wrong?"

"I just got a call from my father on the way home from work." Jared explained. "My mother collapsed and was rushed to the hospital. She's stabilized, but it looks pretty serious. I have to leave town tonight. I'm not sure how long I'll be gone or when I'll be back."

Jared suddenly noticed the little girl on Theresa's lap.

"Why, who is this?" Jared asked, distracted. "She looks a lot like you, Tess! Is she related?"

"Yes, she is." Theresa explained. "She's my daughter, Jane."

"Jane?!" Jared echoed in confusion. "That's not Jane!"

"Oh yes, she is." Theresa repeated. "This is my real daughter, Jane. The little girl Gwen left Harmony with was her own biological daughter. It seems that she had gotten a surrogate by the name of Heather Hooper to carry another embryo for her, but Alistair forced her to tell Gwen that she had lost that child. When Jane was born, he had her substitute Gwen's daughter, Jenny, for my daughter, Jane."

"Why the hell would Alistair Crane do that?" Jared wondered.

"He figured that what happened would happen. Ethan and Gwen would sue me for custody of Jane and win. Jenny not resembling me would make them stick to their guns. That would leave me so desperate, I would ask him for help and then he could get his hands on his grandson, Little Ethan." Theresa explained.

"Wow!" Jared exclaimed. "What a convoluted tale!"

"It sure is." Theresa answered. "But I'm worried about your mom. I'm going with you!"

"I don't know how long I'll be gone." Jared reminded her. "It's the middle of the school year for Little Ethan and what about … Jane?"

"They'll come with us!" Theresa answered. "I'll hire a tutor for Little Ethan."

"I can't ask you and the kids to make that kind of sacrifice, Tess!" Jared protested. "To totally dislocate them like that when we have no idea how long we'll be there is ridiculous. Little Ethan is going to want the company of other kids to play with and … Jane needs to get comfortable with her new surroundings and her real family. It's better if the kids stay here and you stay with them to hold down the fort. Don't worry that I'll feel neglected. I knew you were a mom going in with you and I understand that your kids have to come first with you. I won't feel neglected. I'll keep in touch with you by phone every day."

"Oh, Jared, are you sure?" Theresa worried.

"I'm positive!" Jared reassured her. "We'll all be fine. By the time I get home, my mom will be much better, hopefully, Little Ethan will be finished with this semester and Jane will be more settled. Then, either we can go visit my family or vice versa."

"Okay." Theresa said uncertainly. "I love you, Jared."

"I love you, too, Tess, but I've got a plane to catch." Jared answered, giving her a quick kiss. "I'll call you once I'm with my family to keep you updated and get caught up with what's going on with you."

They embraced. Jared went upstairs, packed his bags and left. Theresa found herself involuntarily exhaling after he did. Thank God, Ethan had been too busy calling everyone about the good news concerning Jane to be aware of Jared's presence and vice versa. The last thing she needed was another brawl between the two men.

The doorbell rang and Sam, Ivy and a plainclothes detective entered.

"Hi, Sam, Mom," Ethan said as he emerged from the library.

"We heard your good news," Sam said as Ivy embraced Ethan. "I brought this detective along in case you and Theresa wanted to press kidnapping charges against this woman, Heather Hooper."

"No, I don't." Ethan answered. "Do you, Theresa?"

"No, I don't either." Theresa replied. "She had no choice. Alistair forced her to tell Gwen that Jenny didn't take and then replace Jane with her. I'm grateful to her for taking such good care of Jane. How could I prosecute her?"

"She'll have to make a statement so we can clear this case." Sam said.

"Will the statement she made to Gwen's attorney when she signed over sole custody of Jane to me do?" Ethan wondered. "It's pretty detailed."

"I don't know. I'll have to read it. Do you have a copy?" Sam asked.

"I have one in my briefcase." Ethan answered. "I'll go get it."

Ethan came out a few minutes later and handed the typewritten statement to Sam who read it avidly.

"I have a few more questions for Mrs. Hooper." Sam said. "Is she still here?"

"Yes." Theresa answered, looking at Sam curiously. "I'll have my mother bring her down. She called her mother who went upstairs to get Heather.

Heather came in and hesitated when she saw Sam Bennett and his plainclothes officer.

"How may I help you?" Heather asked uncertainly.

"I have a few more questions I'd like you to answer before I can completely clear this case." Sam answered.

"Sure." Heather answered cautiously.

"It seems like Alistair went through a whole lot of trouble to switch these babies out. How did he know that Gwen's embryos would take inside of Theresa to begin with?" Sam asked.

"Oh, that?" Heather asked dismissively. "He never thought they would. He always thought that Mrs. Crane had pulled a fast one on Mrs. Winthrop and was already pregnant when she assaulted me and had herself implanted with them. He was sure that Mrs. Crane was already pregnant by his grandson, Nicholas Fox Crane. That was another reason why he wanted control of Mrs. Crane's baby. He didn't want her raising his unborn grandchild anymore than he wanted her to control Little Ethan."

"Well, one of the babies was Gwen's. Unfortunately Nathan was terminated. What would Alistair have done if Nathan had survived and Jane was the one who was terminated. Or better yet, what if Theresa had a boy instead of a girl? What would Alistair have done with Jenny?" Sam pressed.

"Oh, if Mrs. Crane had a boy, he planned to buy a white baby boy on the black market. If Nathan survived the termination, then he wouldn't have bothered to act at all. He didn't care what happened to Jenny in such a situation as long as it didn't come back on him." Heather answered. "I think he'd put on the black market."

"Well, it looks like it all worked out for the best then," Sam said, thinking what a cold-blooded monster Alistair Crane was. At least Jenny and Jane were both safe with their respective mothers.

Suddenly, Sam's phone rang. He answered it.

"No, I haven't heard from Fancy," Sam replied. To everyone's unspoken question, he answered. "It's Luis."

They talked a little bit more and then Sam hung up.

"Hank and Luis are on their way home," Sam informed everyone in the room. "They should be here in about another hour. Plenty of time to join in the celebration of Jane's homecoming."

"You're welcome to join us, Heather." Theresa told the woman. "In fact, if you want to stay with us a couple of days, we'll be happy to host you."

"Oh, no, I can't stay." Heather answered hastily. Ordinarily, she would have been glad to take Theresa up on her offer and spend a couple of more days in this fancy house, in the lap of luxury. But Luis and Hank were sure to tell Ethan and Theresa exactly what conditions they found their daughter living in when they caught up with Heather. How filthy she was and how old and stained her clothes were. How ratted her hair was.

Furthermore, Heather was fairly sure that her oh-so-handsome brother would tell Theresa how it was Gwen who cleaned Jane up, clothed her in a pretty outfit and bought her that stuffed toy she loved so much. Heather shuddered inwardly at the scene which played out in her mind at such a revelation. Heather was savvy enough to know that not only would Theresa be upset about how Heather had neglected Jane, she'd be mortified to know that Gwen was responsible for rescuing her and improving her situation. There was no doubt in Heather's mind that this Theresa would take out her anger and embarrassment on one Heather Hooper and there would be no payoff. She'd be lucky if she wasn't thrown in jail for kidnapping after all!

"This is your big moment with Jane and her real family. It's time for Jane to think of you and Mr. Winthrop as her real mommy and daddy. My sticking around will only confuse the situation that much longer." Heather pointed out sweetly. "Besides I have my own family to catch up on. I haven't seen them since I made the biggest mistake of my life and started dating my husband. You see, they all disapproved of him. I was so much in love with him that I sort of cut ties with all my relatives out of some weird loyalty to him, I guess. In any case, I have a lot of family to catch up with and they're scattered all over the country. I think I'll visit them all and then figure out where I want to settle down. I guess I better start right now."

"Tonight?" Theresa protested. "But surely, you want to wait until tomorrow morning at least!"

"Tonight!" Heather said firmly. "I have a lot of catching up to do and a new life to start!"

"All right," Theresa nodded, whipping out her checkbook and writing Heather such a generous amount of money that it took all her self control to keep her eyes from popping out of her head.

"Thank you, Mrs. Crane." Heather said, putting on a great show of gratified surprise.

"No, thank you." Theresa said earnestly. "You couldn't have taken better care of my daughter, Jane as if she was your own. I will always be grateful to you for it."

Heather nodded and quickly went upstairs to pack and get out of town before Hank and Luis arrived.

She slipped out the front door and got into a waiting taxi as Ethan and Theresa's friends and relatives started filing in to help them celebrate Jane's safe return.

Ethan and Theresa were holding court with Little Ethan and Jane. Little Ethan was playing with Sheridan's adopted son, James and Jane started shyly playing with her cousin Maria and Tabitha's daughter Endora while all the adults watched the children at play with indulgent smiles on their faces.

Luis and Hank came through the door as the party was in full swing. Hank smiled as he saw Valerie and went over to chat with her right away while Luis went over to talk to Sam. He looked around the room, his eyes searching for Fancy and glanced on Sheridan who was holding Katie in her arms, bottle-feeding her and talking to Ivy. As if she felt him in the room. She looked back at him and started at him hungrily, literally eating him alive with her beautiful blue eyes. Luis swiftly turned his head and stared around the room, continuing his visual search for Fancy. He did not see her and frowned.

"Where's Fancy?" Luis asked Sam. "I called her several times, but all I got was her voice mail and now, not even her voice mail is taking messages."

"I don't know," Sam said with a worried frown. "I've tried to reach her myself without success." He called the station to check the duty roster and spoke to the person on duty. Then he became alarmed. "What do you mean Cadet Crane was a last minute substitution? I don't care how much she insisted. She hasn't been trained for that detail! Well, have you heard from her back-up? That does it, send a car out to that address to check her welfare. I'm heading over there!"

"What's wrong, Sam?" Luis asked anxiously.

"Fancy was a last moment substitution for Officer Benson when she got involved in an accident. She's the decoy at a site in a neighborhood where there have been some sexual assaults. No one has heard a thing from her and now they can't reach her back up."

"We need to head over there, right now!" Hank said grimly as he came up on them.

The three men excused themselves and rushed out the door and met the squad car as it went rushing toward the location with sirens blaring and lights flashing.

They found the backup, bound, gagged and tied up in the detached garage. He was unconscious. Sam felt the back of his head and his hand came up bloody.

"We need to get into that house," Sam said grimly.

The officers wasted no time kicking down the door.

"Fancy! Fancy!" Luis yelled frantically as the officers went from room to room.

Luis finally found Fancy in the back bedroom. She was bound and gagged and bruised from head to toe. Her clothes were in tatters. She was crying, shivering and shaking hysterically. It was obviously she had been viciously beaten and sexually assaulted.

Luis reached out to comfort her, but she cringed at his touch, sobbing incoherently.

Sam called a rape counselor and an ambulance and Fancy was taken to the hospital.

A uniformed officer came in.

"The neighbors told me they saw a guy dressed in black sweats, a black hoodie and black ski mask running from this house when they heard the sirens coming. We just missed him." He told them.

"Luis, why don't you go to the hospital and be with Fancy." Sam suggested. "I know it's where you need to be right now. Hank and I can oversee the crime scene."

Luis nodded gratefully and rushed to hospital where he was met by Ivy, Fox and Sheridan in the waiting room.

After what seemed like an eternity, the hospital allowed Ivy, Fox and Sheridan in to see Fancy.

Ivy's heart wrenched to see Fancy so battered and traumatized. She comforted Fancy as best as she could then excused herself to call Julian so he could come home and help her support their daughter.

Fox clumsily hugged Fancy and kissed her on the cheek, gruffly saying he loved her. Then he left the room too upset to say another word.

That left Sheridan alone with Fancy.

"Poor Fancy," Sheridan commiserated. "You've certainly been through an ordeal. You can be sure that Sam and Hank will do everything to catch your rapist."

Fancy stared at Sheridan warily.

"Is Luis here?" Fancy asked her.

"He's waiting outside." Sheridan answered her. "Right now the doctors only let family in to see you. Do you want to see him?"

"No! Yes! I mean, I don't know!" Fancy stammered.

"I know how you feel," Sheridan said, staring at her intently, as if gauging her reaction. "Luis demands such perfection in his women. I mean, look at me, I fell off his pedestal and now he's with you. How is he going to react to you after … what happened? Don't worry, Fancy. He's an officer. He's been trained to deal with rape victims. He knows that you didn't deserve this to happen even if you did put yourself in a situation you weren't trained for. I don't think he'll blame you."

The expression on Fancy's expressive face let Sheridan know that was the last thing she wanted to hear. That Luis would never see Fancy the way he used to again. That everything had changed. That his affection would turn to pity.

Sheridan smiled inwardly. The poison pill had been dropped. It was time to back away or what she was doing would look too obvious. She would undermine Fancy's self-confidence. She would make Luis' every reassurance of love and devotion sound hollow and false. So much so that Fancy would push him away. She would do this while playing the supportive aunt to Fancy and friend to Luis. She would kill them with kindness. "I'll get Luis for you," she told her niece.


	16. Snake in the Grass

Luis paced the hospital waiting room floor anxiously as he listened to Ivy sobbing out the news of Fancy's rape to Julian who had just checked himself and Rebecca into the VIP penthouse suite of a prominent London hotel shortly after the Crane jet had landed at Heathrow Airport.

Luis could not hear what Julian was saying, but it was obvious that his words were having a soothing, reassuring effect on Ivy who calmed down and then quietly hung up.

"Julian said he is going to refuel the jet and return to Harmony immediately," Ivy said, wiping her eyes, as she approached Luis. "He also said he is going to send two of the stoutest fellows he can find from Crane Security to stand watch over Fancy until whoever … did this to her … can be caught and punished."

A few minutes later, he saw Fox rush out of Fancy's room ashen-faced and tight-lipped. Fox nodded at Luis, and quickly got into the elevator, obviously not willing or able to speak. His eyes were bright with unshed tears.

Sheridan quietly came out of Fancy's room, carefully shutting the door behind her.

"Sheridan!" Luis cried. "How is Fancy doing?"

"About how anyone would expect in such a situation," Sheridan remarked. "She's traumatized."

"Of course, she is." Luis agreed tightly. "Right now, the doctors are only clearing her immediate family to see her. When can I see her?"

"That's why I came out. Fancy is ready to see you right now." Sheridan said, knowing nothing could be further from the truth. She could tell by how ambivalent Fancy was right now that the last person she wanted to see was Luis. Not until she could compose herself and regain some sort of dignity. But Sheridan had no intentions of allowing her that.

Luis nodded, taking a deep breath to steel himself before he went in. He was frantically scouring his brain to retrieve all his police training for cases of rape. Trying to remember how he had dealt with all the disheveled, distraught victims he had worked with in the past. All of their situations wrung his heart and brought out his protective instincts, but they were strangers, so he could provide them with enough professional detachment to really be of service to them. This was personal. This was a woman he loved and hoped to marry. This was Fancy.

He struggled with himself for several seconds, then a part of his training reminded him that all these rape victims blamed themselves and feared rejection from their loved ones. The longer he kept Fancy waiting, the more likely she would fall into this category. Setting his shoulders back, he briskly opened her hospital room door and walked in.

Sheridan watched Luis enter Fancy's room with satisfaction. She could see that all his protective instincts had come to fore just like they always emerged with women he saw as victims. Like they had with her when Alistair had been victimizing her. Except Fancy had been raped, so his knight errant instincts would come out on steroids. Instinctively, Sheridan knew that this was the last thing Fancy needed, so as her devoted aunt, she was going to make sure that's all she could expect to get.

Luis felt the heart within him wrench as he saw Fancy. Her cuts and bruises had been cleaned up. Though her eyes were slightly puffy, she was no longer crying and appeared calm, he noted with relief. Still, she looked so slight in her hospital gown, the expression in her eyes was devastating and she looked so lost. He was clueless as to how to help her.

Fancy frantically scoured Luis' face and searched his eyes with her own. She knew that their relationship had entered a whole new footing. She could see he was upset but trying to hold it together for her, worried that he would add to her trauma.

"How are you holding up?" Luis asked awkwardly.

"About as well as can be expected." Fancy answered, eager to change the subject and get her mind off of the thoughts screaming through her mind and onto anything … anything at all that could take her mind off of them. "So, can you get me up to speed? What happened when you and Hank and Jonathan caught up with Gwen?"

"Good news!" Luis exulted, grateful to share the good news. "We caught up to Gwen in Birmingham, Alabama. She and her daughter are back in Boston with Jonathan. But then there is even better news. Theresa's daughter has been returned to her and is back in Harmony with her real mom."

"Luis, I'm confused." Fancy said, intrigued. "You just said Gwen is with her daughter in Boston. But you also said that Theresa has her daughter here in Harmony. How can one little girl be in two places at the same time?"

"That's because there were two little girls!" Luis exclaimed. "Gwen had talked that surrogate Theresa attacked to carry another embryo for her. That baby survived, though Alistair made Heather and her doctor lie to Gwen and say it was lost. Gwen's daughter was born two days before Theresa's daughter, so Alistair had Heather switch the girls in Harmony hospital. Heather has been raising the real Jane all along. That's what Gwen discovered in Birmingham. That's why she called Hank and me. To prove that Jenny must be her daughter."

"Gwen named her daughter Jenny after she found out?" Fancy asked. "She intended to name her Ashley Rebecca, didn't she?"

"She did, but Jenny was having a hard time adapting to how different it was." Luis explained. "I noticed that Gwen always called her 'Janie' when she was upset, so I suggested that Gwen change her name to Jennifer Ashley and call her Jenny so the name change wouldn't be such a wrench!"

"Oh, Luis," Fancy rejoiced, her blue eyes lighting up. "That was a great idea you came up with! This is wonderful news! Thank you for sharing it with me … now. What can I say? Jane is back with her real mother and … Jenny … isn't freaking out at being taken from her mother. I'm so happy for my brother, because now he can be with Theresa without hurting Gwen anymore. I'm so happy for Theresa, because she has her daughter back. I'm so happy for Gwen, because she didn't lose her daughter and can go on with her life. I consider them both my friends and I'm so glad that I can be happy for Gwen and Theresa, too! That it's not like I'm taking sides. Oh! I'm babbling like an idiot! But do you know what I mean?"

"I know exactly what you mean!" Luis smiled, relieved to see Fancy animated and bubbling with the shadows banished from her eyes.

"Oh, Luis!" Sheridan cried. "Thank you for sharing your great news about Ethan's daughters. I'm happy for Theresa, too, but I'm thrilled for Gwen, too. She's my best friend! Most of all I'm glad that this took Fancy's mind off of her rape!"

It was like a light switch that had been turned off. All animation fled Fancy's face and the shadows returned to her eyes. She looked lost again.

"Luis, I'm sorry about all the trouble I caused the department so much trouble," Fancy said uncomfortably. "I should have listened to you when you told me I couldn't go on any vice assignments without the proper training. Believe me … I'm sorry I didn't."

Before Luis could open his mouth, Sheridan cut in sweetly. "That's all right, Fancy. Luis knows that you're the victim in all this, not the perpetrator."

"No woman asks to be raped." Luis agreed tightly, inwardly cursing the turn the conversation had taken.

"I-I'm sorry, but I think my sedative is kicking in." Fancy said suddenly. "I'm really tired now and I want to rest a little bit for now!"

"Do you want me to stay with you?" Luis asked her.

"No!" Fancy exclaimed. "I mean, I'm sorry, but all I want to do is go to sleep. I know you want to find the guy who did this and you can't do that if you're hovering over me. I've caused the department too much trouble as it is."

"Don't say that, Fancy." Luis pleaded.

"It's true." Fancy said firmly.

"I'll stay with Fancy." Sheridan assured Luis, her entire being radiating concern and compassion.

"I appreciate that, Aunt Sheridan," Fancy said tensely. "But I-I just want my mother. Can you just get me my mother?"

"I'll get her." Luis said. "Sheridan, I appreciate you helping Fancy this way. But Fancy's right. Ivy can be of more help to her, because she has fewer responsibilities. You have two small children who need you right now."

"Chris stayed with them tonight so I could come to the hospital for Fancy, so they're all right," Sheridan commented, blinking as if in surprise at this mild rebuke. "But I agree that they will need me soon. Still, I don't think Fancy should be left alone right now at a time like this. So, I'm going to wait here until Ivy comes in. Then I'll leave."

"Thanks, Sheridan." Luis said gratefully and then walked out the door.

Ivy was pacing the floor outside, like a caged tigress.

"Ivy!" Luis exclaimed. "What are you doing here? Fancy is asking for you."

"Is she alone?" Ivy asked anxiously.

"No, Sheridan is with her right now." Luis answered.

"Good. I don't want Fancy left alone at a time like this." Ivy said firmly. "I'm waiting for Crane Security to get here and post outside Fancy's door. I have special instructions for them. They are to shoot to kill if they find anyone suspicious lurking around here!"

Ivy was in full mother lioness mode right now. No one and nothing would be allowed through Fancy's door to hurt her cub!

Luis was tempted to urge her not to encourage Crane Security to take the law into their own hand, but that temptation yielded to the stronger one of allowing Crane Security to take their usual heavy-handed tactics with anyone who tried to harm the Crane Family. Especially where Fancy was concerned.

Luis felt tense. He was worried sick about Fancy and her state of mind, but felt helpless and clueless as to what to do about it. Luckily, she wasn't alone right now, because Sheridan was with her. She wouldn't have to be worried about being attacked again. He could concentrate on finding the bastard who had perpetrated this rape on her and bring him to justice.

Suddenly, he found himself dialing Gwen's number in Boston.

"Hello?" Luis heard Gwen say sleepily.

"Gwen, its Luis. Did I wake you up? I can call back in the morning." Luis offered brokenly.

"No, don't!" Gwen begged. "I was sleeping, but I'm not one of those people who can't go back to sleep easily. Why are you calling so late? What's wrong? Is everything okay with Jane?"

"Jane's fine." Luis replied. "I saw her at the party Theresa threw to introduce her to the family. The Bennetts and Cranes and Lopez-Fitzgeralds and their friends were all there. Jane wasn't scared or anything. By the time I saw her with Theresa, it was as if she had never been kidnapped and had always been with her. She took to everyone else like gangbusters, too. She loves her big brother, Little Ethan and is already best buddies with her cousin Maria."

"That's wonderful, Luis." Gwen commented. "But you didn't wake me up for that. Something is wrong. I can tell it in your voice."

"Fancy's been raped." Luis said baldly, in flat, broken tones.

"Oh, Luis! Oh my God, Fancy!" Gwen exclaimed. "Crane has the best security imaginable! How did it happen?"

"She took an undercover assignment that suddenly came open on vice detail and this rapist overpowered her backup and got to her." Luis explained.

"Oh my God! Poor Fancy!" Gwen cried sympathetically. "Is she all right now? Nothing else happened to her … did it?"

"No, we got her to the hospital where she was promptly treated." Luis answered. "Julian is sending two of Crane's best security men to guard her hospital door and shadow her until the rapist is caught and pays for this. Ivy is waiting for them and then she'll stay with Fancy at the hospital tonight."

"That's good, but Fancy isn't alone right now, is she?" Gwen worried.

"No, Fancy isn't alone." Luis assured her. "Sheridan is with her."

Sheridan? Uh-Oh!

"Sheridan?" Gwen echoed. "Sheridan is with her?"

"Yes," Luis answered. "Sheridan is staying with her until Ivy gets in. I'm proud of her, Gwen. I know she wasn't happy that Fancy and I got together, but she's stepping up to the plate and supporting her niece just like family should."

"I'll be glad to come up and help if I'm needed." Gwen offered. "That way I can take some of the load off Sheridan and the others." And run interference between Sheridan and Fancy, Gwen thought grimly. "She's got two kids and a husband to consider."

"You're in no better shape than Sheridan is, Gwen." Luis said, looking around the hospital and lowering his voice conspiratorially. "After all you have a newborn to look after."

"I know." Gwen conceded, feeling helpless. "But Sheridan isn't a professional and that's what Fancy needs. Or at least a rape survivor who has been through this and can help show her the ropes. Has anyone contacted the rape crisis center, yet"

"I don't know." Luis admitted.

"Luis, as soon as you get off the phone with me, please call them as soon as possible." Gwen urged. "Sheridan may mean well, but she isn't in a position to help Fancy. In fact … she could end up hurting her and making the situation worse…"

Gwen let her voice trail off, ashamed of her suspicions and hesitant to air them aloud to Luis. She didn't want to think Sheridan was capable of using her niece's rape to destroy Fancy's relationship with Luis. But hadn't she herself been capable of doing precisely that with Theresa?

She could still hear Theresa calling for help when Alistair cornered her and raped her. Theresa's cries and pleas for mercy and Alistair's guttural laughter still echoed in her ears. She remembered how she not only didn't come to Theresa's aid; she relished her enemy's humiliation and pain. No, she went to her room where Ethan was, turned on some loud music and distracted him by screwing his brains out. With a smile on her face and a song in her heart, happy as a lark that someone was sticking it to Theresa, for a change.

Love was a great transformer. But not always for the better. Especially when things weren't working out. No one knew this better than she did.

"You may be right," Luis said uncertainly. "But are you sure that Fancy won't be upset-"

"No, she won't be." Gwen assured him. "Even if she is, it will be better for her in the long run if a rape crisis counselor deals with her than an amateur like Sheridan. Promise me, Luis."

"Okay, I promise." Luis vowed.

Both said their good nights and hung up.

Gwen felt a little easier for Fancy, now that Luis had given his word. She didn't know how soon it might occur to Sheridan to make a move on Fancy now that she was so vulnerable and helpless, but the idea to use this rape against her would come sooner or later. The quicker Fancy got some professional help the better.

Luis saw two buff looking, long-legged men dressed in black clothes, obviously packing serious hardware, striding up the hospital corridor, heading in Ivy's direction. They had to be Crane Security's two best men. They looked like they had military combat experience and he could almost pity anyone who tried to hurt Fancy. Almost.

"Your mother should be in here any minute, now." Sheridan told Fancy after a long bout of silence.

"Thank you." Fancy said woodenly.

"I'm worried about you." Sheridan lied, displaying nothing but concern. "You're not still blaming yourself for the rape, are you? Yes, you took some foolish chances. But Luis would never blame you. He knows you're the victim."

The victim. The last thing Fancy wanted to be.

"I remember how he was with me." Sheridan continued. "He took very good care of me. He'll take great care of you, too. After all, you're my niece. Luis is a natural protector. He'll protect you, too."

"Aunt Sheridan, I really want to be left alone!" Fancy snapped while Sheridan smiled inwardly with satisfaction.

"I can't do that!" Sheridan said truthfully. "I promised Luis I'd stay here until your mother gets here."

"Then would you please, please shut up?!" Fancy begged. "I really appreciate the fact that you're trying to help, Aunt Sheridan. But I'm tired … too tired to think right now. All I want to do is close my eyes."

"Then close them." Sheridan soothed. "I'll be right here, by your side."

Fancy closed her eyes, wondering why she didn't feel comforted by her aunt's words.

Finally, she decided to feign sleep, breathing deeply and evenly so she wouldn't have to make conversation with Sheridan.

After what seemed like an eternity, Ivy came in and had a quiet conversation with Sheridan. Fancy heard Ivy thank Sheridan for watching her and tell her about the Crane Security guards outside.

She felt rather than saw the two women embrace. It was only after Sheridan left that Fancy felt like she could relax. She suddenly felt too sleepy to talk to her mother. As Ivy quietly slipped into a chair by the side of her bed, Fancy drifted off into an odd dream with Sheridan's best friend, Gwyneth Hotchkiss Winthrop. They were back in the hospital corridor in the middle of an argument.

_"So you believe that Sheridan is the Marilyn Munster of you Creepy Cranes. I think she even believes it. But, you both forget that she is very much one of you. Don't put her to the test, Fancy."_

As the sedative really kicked in and Fancy lapsed into unconsciousness, she could see Gwen's eyes flashing a warning, but this time there was real concern on her face and it was for Fancy.


	17. Silent Partners

Gwen woke up and made her bed, feeling blue. Her natural alarm clock was still working, after all these many months of getting up early with Jane … no, make that Jenny now. The real Jane was back with her real mother, making all Theresa's dreams of living Happily Ever After with Ethan, Little Ethan and Jane a reality. As for Jenny, she, along with her little brother, Jon-Louis, would be raised in a household headed by a single mother.

The fact that she didn't have the financial worries that hounded most women in her shoes was cold comfort to Gwen. After Theresa had used her Crane power to freeze Gwen's bank accounts and get Ethan blacklisted, chasing the Almighty Dollar and pinching every spare penny she had to hold the family together had actually been beneficial to Gwen. Now she had all this time to feel sorry for herself. She had not even been Ethan's wife for ten years. But she had been dating him with the understanding that they would marry for ten years before that and they had been friends whose parents had actively worked for them to get together ever since she could remember. She would never see thirty again but Gwen felt like a woman in her late fifties who had been abandoned by a husband in the throes of a mid-life crisis. Like an old, cast-off shoe that had outlived its usefulness and attractiveness.

Like a God-send, the sound of Jon-Luis crying for attention and Jenny coming over and talking to her little brother in that sweet little voice over the monitor jolted her from her depressing thoughts. She hurried to the nursery they shared right off her bedroom, changed Jon and helped Jenny change and make her bed. Jon-Luis was a good-sized baby who pleasantly surprised her by sleeping through the night from the get-go, but he was ravenously hungry, so she put him to her breast, relishing the painful pleasure of him suckling at her swollen breast.

"Baby hungry," Jenny remarked solemnly.

"He sure is, honey," Gwen answered. "How about Jenny?"

"Jenny, too," Jenny answered. Gwen was relieved that Jenny had gotten used to her new name so fast and thanked God that Luis suggested this route. With Jon at her breast, Gwen used her free hand to guide Jenny down the stairs toward the kitchen so she could make her and herself some hot oatmeal.

After cleaning up, she put the children in the living room where she installed Jon-Luis in his automatic swing chair and puttered around the townhouse, putting things in order. Jenny seemed a little fussy, so Gwen read to her and played with her until she herself was tired.

"What you need, young lady, is a playmate or two to distract you." Gwen told Jenny. "It's getting harder and harder to entertain you." What a pity Jon-Louis is too small to be much company for Jenny, Gwen thought.

"Jane?" Jenny asked hopefully. With a sinking feeling, Gwen realized that Jenny missed her half-sister. Well, Jane had spent almost a week with them and Jenny had gotten used to having her around. But now Jane was living with her mother and Jenny's father.

"Maybe, later," Gwen said vaguely, not promising what she had no intentions of delivering. "Jane is living … in another town, now. But in the meantime, I'll find you some other friends to play with."

Jenny looked disappointed but resigned and went back to playing with her toys as Gwen got on her computer to research what Boston had for entertaining groups of small children. Gwen saved some homepages and looked outside the window. If it was a bright, sunny day, she'd dress the children and take them out to the park outside her window. Gwen knew this was a family neighborhood. She had seen children there before. But it was cold and rainy with drizzle running down the windows. No parent in their right mind would take a child out on a day like this.

The phone rang and Gwen answered it. It was Luis.

"Luis," Gwen said. "How is Fancy?"

"Not too good," Luis admitted. "I called the rape crisis counselor and she came over, but Fancy was … not very cooperative. She was rather put out with me. The counselor thinks she's still in shock and denial and that a rape crisis person is a reality she doesn't want to face right now."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Gwen said honestly, upset that her suggestion to help Fancy had backfired on Luis. "I guess it was a mistake to call her?"

"No, the counselor says that Fancy's reaction is totally normal and understandable." Luis answered. "In her opinion, rape aftermath is sort of like a death and the victim goes through all the stages; denial, anger, a form of bargaining, depression and then acceptance. God willing, Fancy will work her way through this so that she can emerge a stronger person at the end." Luis continued hopefully. "Luckily, she has her family. Sheridan showed up right the next morning to help her, just like the trooper she is."

"Sheridan?" Gwen echoed. She did not like this. Not one little bit. No, not at all. She had felt uncertain and ashamed of her suspicions about her best friend last night. Of course an aunt would drop everything and run to her niece's side to comfort her after a rape. After it first happened. But to continue to do it after that, unless Fancy asked for her, seemed a little too much. Sheridan had a husband and two small children of her own to take care of. How would Sheridan disrupting her own life with Chris and their family be beneficial to Fancy? It wouldn't. Gwen was convinced Sheridan was still angry that Fancy had gotten involved with Luis and was there to do a mischief to their relationship.

"Yes." Luis answered. "Gwen, you sound like this troubles you."

"It does." Gwen answered, trying to choose her words carefully. "Sheridan, bless her heart, means well, but she has her own family to look after. Katie is too small for Sheridan to be much help to Fancy. In fact, she could hurt Fancy … unintentionally, of course. Is Fancy going to go back to her apartment or is she going to be staying with Ivy?" Gwen thought it wouldn't be like Ivy to let Fancy stay alone after this attack and the perpetrator still on the loose.

"I don't know." Luis admitted. "I've been too busy tracking leads with Hank and Sam to follow up on that. I don't know what's been planned, but I do believe the hospital is going to release Fancy tomorrow morning."

"Why don't you have Fancy move back into Crane House?" Gwen suggested. "It's like a fortified castle over there with lots of servants within earshot who won't be put out by having Crane Security full force on site. Also … Theresa is there. I think she could help Fancy better than Sheridan could."

"That's a great idea." Luis said. "Theresa says that Alistair … raped her before they got married. I know that you and Rebecca didn't believe her, Gwen , but I think-"

"I didn't choose to believe Theresa at the time," Gwen conceded. "I thought it was a big ploy on her part to get sympathy from Ethan. But I have to admit that not even Theresa would have a … fling with that man. In any case, I have to hand it to her. Theresa is very resilient. She bounced right back and came on top after that. She's the ultimate survivor. If anyone can help Fancy out of this mess, it's Theresa."

"Yeah," Luis agreed. "I'll talk to Theresa today and I'll talk to you later."

"Luis?" Gwen caught him before he hung up. "Promise me you'll find some tactful way to keep Sheridan away from Fancy. I know that Sheridan feels sorry for her, but the last thing Fancy needs is Sheridan's … sympathy. She could undermine her without really intending to and this could really hurt them both."

"Okay. Bye."

Gwen went into the kitchen and made herself some tea. She came back to the living room to reflect on her situation. She had everything she had spent months working for in Harmony. She had freed herself from any feeling of guilt or obligation to Ethan for exposing him as the Bennett changeling in the Crane nest by restoring the Winthrop Family Law Firm to him. She had moved to Boston to end her pain over watching Ethan's obsession with Theresa. She had her daughter to herself, free and clear. She should be happier. But she had to be honest with herself. One of the reasons why she had adopted Jenny when she thought she was Jane, was a form of revenge against Theresa. Not the only reason, she loved the little girl of course, but a significant one.

Theresa deserved to pay for all the pain that she had caused Gwen over the past decade. Gwen was delighted that Jane turned out to be her own biological daughter, Jennifer Ashley. But she would have been happier still if the real Jane didn't exist at all. It seemed unfair that Theresa won when Gwen lost and she still won when Gwen won. It was silly, it was childish on her part, but it was true.

But maybe the whole Jane and Jenny was God's way of saying something? What, Gwen didn't know. In any case, now that Theresa had her shot at happiness with Ethan and her children, she could make up for all that she did to get it by helping someone else instead of hurting them for a change.

I am going to concentrate on these two miracles I have in front of me. The children I thought I could never have. My darling Jenny, my baby, Jon-Luis. I am going to count my blessings. I am going to put Ethan, Theresa and their family out of my mind and move on with my own, Gwen vowed.

Theresa was playing with Jane in her living room in Harmony. She had decided to take off the week from Crane and was toying with the idea of setting up an office at home so she could be near her daughter. It was that important to make up for lost time.

Theresa stared at Jane with a fierce protective love shining out of her great dark eyes. Jane's big blue eyes stared back at her with all the love and trust that Theresa could ask for. Theresa found she never got tired of staring at this miracle child of hers, Jane. Just looking at her, she saw her own flesh and blood reflected there. Had Alistair never had Heather switch out Jenny for Jane, Theresa knew that she would have never rolled the dice with this child and called Ethan's bluff when he threatened to take Jane away from her if she prosecuted Gwen for stabbing her. No. She would have raised Little Ethan and Jane as a single mother. Taken what odd jobs she had to support them. There was no doubt in her own mind of this.

Theresa's thoughts were interrupted by the doorbell ringing. She got up to answer it and opened the door.

"Hank!" Theresa cried gleefully and threw herself in his arms.

"Hi, Shorty!" Hank grinned down at her, with a rakish grin. "How's the new mommy?!"

"I'm great!" Theresa exclaimed, dimpling up at Hank's handsome face. Once again, she was struck by his resemblance to Ethan. Oh, he was a little darker and harder looking, but the Bennett features ran strong in them both.

Hank casually released her and walked over to Jane then squatted in front of her as she played.

"Well, well," Hank said, crouching in front of Jane. "If it isn't Shorty, Junior. Remember me, little lady?"

Jane looked up from her toys, saw Hank, smiled at him and touched his face.

"That's right," Theresa conceded. "You went with Luis when Gwen called you to meet her in Birmingham."

"Yep," Hank said, engaged by Jane batting her big blue eyes and dimpling up at him as he played with her. "We picked her up at the Hoopers."

"Well, luckily, Mrs. Hooper took great care of Jane," Theresa commented. "She was clean and she even has that toy she loves so much."

"Heather Hooper?!" Hank snorted derisively. "You've got to be kidding me! That one did the bare minimum for Jane. You should have seen how that poor kid looked when we found her."

"How did she look?" Theresa asked filled with curiosity and dread.

"Jane was lucky to be alive when we caught up with the Hoopers. We had actually thought she was in the morgue; she was living in such a bad area. Jane looked like an orphan. I'm only surprised we didn't find her digging through the trash for food. Her hair was ratty, she was dirty and she reeked. She obviously hadn't had a bath in forever." Hank said disgustedly. "Heather Hooper is a real piece of work, not to mention her late, unlamented husband who put every dollar Alistair gave them up his nose."

"What?!" Theresa exclaimed angrily. "I just got through giving that bitch the biggest payoff of her life!"

"Well, that would make two payoffs," Hank commented. "Gwen wrote her a nice big fat check to sign off on Jenny. Last thing she wanted was such a woman controlling her own daughter."

"Gwen knew how Heather treated my Jane?" Theresa asked indignantly.

"Of course, Gwen knew." Hank answered. "That's why she paid, through the nose, to that mercenary harpy to get her to sign off on Jenny without any problems. Who do you think cleaned Jane up and bought her that toy? Can't you see how new it is? If Heather had gotten Jane back, it would look … well loved by now, just like Jenny's Simba right now."

"Gwen took care of Jane?" Theresa asked.

"She sure did. The last thing Luis and I wanted to do was traumatize poor Jane by bathing her ourselves. We felt it would be better if a woman did it. A mother. So we sort of … volunteered Gwen to do it." Hank laughed. "I must say Her Highness was not happy. 'Okay I will, but promise me you will burn her clothes. God only knows what kind of vermin they are crawling with,'" Hank continued, mimicking Gwen's refined accents with the utmost burlesque snobbery. "Still, once she cleaned Jane up and put her into one of Jane's nightgowns, she looked like a little princess."

"And you say that Gwen bought Jane that little stuffed Dalmatian puppy of hers?" Theresa pressed.

"Yes, she did." Hank answered. "Jane fell in love with Jenny's Simba and the two little girls were fighting over it, so Gwen took Luis to Wal-Mart and they got Jane a special friend of her own."

"Heather made it sound like Gwen was mistreating Jane." Theresa said. "She scared the hell out of me. She even gave me these pictures."

Hank looked at the pictures Theresa gave him carefully as she told him everything Heather had said to her about Gwen talking about keeping Jane herself to punish Theresa over Nathan.

"I don't think you have to worry about that," Hank assured her. "Gwen was just letting off steam. I don't think, for one minute, she would have kept Jane. She acted like she could hardly bear the sight of her."

"That's supposed to make me feel better?" Theresa exclaimed.

"It was plain to me that Jane's resemblance to you was a sore point to Gwen," Hank explained. "The fact that Jenny did not look like you made it easy for Gwen to forget that Nathan had to die to make room for your daughter. There is no way she could live with that reminder in her face every day indefinitely."

"Again," Theresa pressed. "How is that supposed to make me feel better?"

"There is no way that Gwen would have held onto her. And Gwen is not the type of person to mistreat an innocent child. I was watching her. Closely. Yes she seemed violently ambivalent towards Jane, but I knew that she would take great pains NOT to hurt that little girl. Gwen is not the type of person who would abuse an innocent child. She would do exactly what she did. Send her away as quickly as possible."

Theresa felt relieved, but still troubled. Gwen was still Jane's legal mother. If anything ever happened to herself, assuming Gwen took Ethan back, custody would revert back to Gwen. Leaving Jane with a woman who would make a dutiful mother to her, but not really want her around. Jane was intuitive and would sense that lack of love. Theresa shivered.

"I'm going to track Heather Hooper down and make her pay for what she did to Jane," Theresa vowed, distracting herself from her uneasiness with anger. "In fact, I'm going to put a 'stop pay' on that check I wrote her right now!"

"I wouldn't bother if I were you," Hank said cynically. "If Heather Hooper is the con artist I found her to be, she has wasted no time and not allowed any grass to grow under her feet. She has cashed both your check and Gwen's and she's long gone, figuring out by now that someone must have told you the truth about the Mother of the Year."

Theresa had to agree that Hank was right. She stewed in her own juices for several minutes more, but then Luis came in to see her as Hank left.

"Hi, Luis, what's up? How's Fancy?" Theresa asked.

"She's not doing so well." Luis answered and went into what a disaster the rape crisis counselor Gwen suggested he call for Fancy had actually worked out. Theresa was concerned.

"Gwen had another suggestion that I wanted to run by you." Luis said.

"What's that?" Theresa asked suspiciously.

"She thought it would be the best thing for Fancy if she moved back into Crane House. She figured there are lots of servants within earshot who wouldn't get freaked out by Crane Security all over the place." Luis explained. "I wanted to get your permission."

"Well, like a stopped clock, Gwen can be right a time or two!" Theresa remarked. "Sure, Fancy can stay here. She's not only the woman you love. She's my friend and I love here, too."

"That's great!" Luis exclaimed with relief. "Gwen felt that you could be more help to Fancy than anyone else. Seeing what you went through with Alistair."

"Whoa. Wait up. Gwen called me a liar when I told Ethan that Alistair raped me," Theresa pointed out.

"Gwen admitted to me that she didn't choose to believe you at the time, thinking it was just another ploy of yours to get next to Ethan." Luis conceded.

"Did she?" Theresa asked dubiously. "Well, I guess it's a moot point now that she left Ethan."

"In any case, she is hoping that you'll take over with Fancy, so Sheridan will go back to taking care of her own family." Luis explained.

"Sheridan is with Fancy now?" Theresa asked, wondering why she felt uneasy about this.

"Yes, she's practically at her side ever since she found out about the rape." Luis elaborated. "Gwen does not feel this is good for either Sheridan or Fancy."

"Well, mark this day on your calendar, Luis, because I agree." Theresa concurred decisively.

"I think you'll also agree with Gwen that Sheridan has never been through this herself nor is she a professional and could possibly hurt Fancy more than she could help." Luis said.

"Oh, absolutely." Theresa nodded. Her concern for Fancy was growing. She felt that Gwen, in her own weird way, was trying to relay a discreet message to her about Gwen's friend where Theresa's friend was concerned. Gwen was secretly warning Theresa that Sheridan was not there in Fancy's best interests. This surprised Theresa, because she knew how loyal Gwen was to Sheridan.

Still, Theresa had to admit that Gwen and Luis had gotten awfully close since Rome. There was no doubt in Theresa's mind that Gwen liked and respected Luis a lot. Her friendship with Luis was probably the deciding factor in Gwen sending Jane back to her. The only way Gwen could resist the temptation to punish Theresa with Jane was by seeing Jane more as a niece of Luis than a child of Theresa.

"I'm going to the hospital and invite Fancy to stay with me at Crane House." Theresa assured Luis. "I won't accept no for an answer, so consider it a done deal."

A grateful Luis embraced her and then left to return to Fancy's side.

Theresa sent Jane back to the nursery and went to her own room to change. It was strange to be working with Gwen rather than against her for a change, she reflected. Especially over a man they both cared so much for. Still, a silent partnership had been established and she would do her best to keep her end up.


	18. Controversial Invitation

Theresa arrived at the hospital to find Ivy with Julian in the waiting room. It was obvious that, true to his word, Julian had just arrived. No doubt, he had turned right around, checked himself out of his London hotel suite, and re-boarded the Crane jet back to Harmony as soon as he had it refueled. To Theresa, Julian had always looked dissipated, but he looked like total hell now. It was obvious he hadn't had any sleep and had been too distracted and distressed by the news of Fancy's rape to clean up. It was also obvious that he was alone.

"Where's Rebecca?" Theresa heard Ivy ask him.

"Oh, she remained in London," Julian answered. "There really is nothing she can do here but get in the way. She was really looking forward to taking a shopping tour of Europe. She'll probably have more fun without me."

"Hello, Ivy. Julian." Theresa said casually, stepping through the door.

"Theresa!" Ivy exclaimed in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to see Fancy," Theresa explained. "I heard the news, but I'm glad you're both here. I want to talk to you two about something."

"What is it?" Julian asked curiously.

"Luis told me that Fancy is going to be released tomorrow morning. I'm planning to invite her to stay with me at Crane House." Theresa told them. "I know she's got her own apartment now, but until her rapist is caught, Crane House is the safest place for her to stay. I don't think her neighbors will appreciate being under armed guard and that is what Crane Security will do; place the entire building under lockdown."

"That's an excellent idea," Ivy said, feeling relieved. "I was going to get Fancy to stay with Sam and me, but his neighbors would have the same problem with Crane Security that her neighbors would."

"I agree," Julian said. "But Fancy is ferociously independent. God knows, I did everything imaginable to talk her out of moving out of Crane House and joining Harmony P.D. that I could. It made no sense to me for her to become a meter maid when she had a very cozy position at Crane to fill anytime she wanted it. But we all know impossible Fancy is when she gets an idea into her head. On the way here, Ivy called me and told me what a disaster getting that rape crisis counselor for her proved to be. She wants to go back to normal even if she has to pretend this assault never happened. How are you going to talk my stubborn daughter back into Crane House?"

"I'm not going to take 'no' for an answer!" Theresa retorted. "It worked with Ethan!"

Both Ivy and Julian looked at each other and smiled wryly at this reply.

"Is Fancy alone?" Theresa enquired.

"No," Ivy responded. "There's no way we'd allow Fancy to be alone at a time like this! Sheridan is with her."

"I'd better hurry then," Theresa remarked. "Wait out here. I don't want Fancy to feel ganged up on."

"All right," Julian nodded, taking a reluctant Ivy by the elbow. "We'll be in the coffee room until you're done."

Julian then guided Ivy out of the waiting room.

Theresa squared her shoulders, thrust out her chin, flipped her glossy black hair and marched into Fancy's room.

Sheridan was sweetly smiling as she leaned over Fancy who looked trapped and miserable.

Sheridan jumped guiltily and Fancy turned her head in alarm as Theresa deliberately let the door slam with great force.

"Sorry about that!" Theresa apologized. Her own expression and words were sincere. But her thoughts were not, since she had noticed that Sheridan's mask of sweet concern had slipped slightly to reveal the petulant annoyance at Theresa's interruption.

"Theresa!" Fancy exclaimed. Like she was happy to see her. Or was she relieved.

"Hi, Fancy," Theresa said, giving Ethan's little sister a big hug. "Are you feeling a little bit better today?"

"Yes, I am." Fancy responded a little defiantly. "The doctors tell me I'll be ready for checkout tomorrow."

"Glad to hear it." Theresa replied. "Believe it or not, it gets a little bit better every day. Take it from me, once you put things in perspective, it's not any different from any other kind of nastiness out there. Like, if some mugger beats you up while you're out on an errand. You feel like hell the first day or two and then you feel a little less like hell with each passing day. Then you don't hurt at all, but you remember to be more careful where you go shopping."

"That's a great analogy," Fancy remarked. "In any case, it works for me. I'm ready to get back to normal as soon as possible."

"But you can't get back to normal tomorrow!" Sheridan protested. "Fancy, you've been raped, you've been violated and your rapist is still out there, just waiting for another chance to rape you again."

"So?" Fancy replied vehemently. "Lots of old ladies are mugged by robbers who get away with it. Do you really think a robber is going to look at an old lady and think, 'Oh, I robbed her once already! Can't do it again?!' Of course not. That doesn't mean the old lady can afford to quit shopping for groceries. She's got to go back to living her life if she wants to survive. So do I!"

"A poor old lady has no other choice!" Sheridan retorted. "As a Crane, you've got a ton of them!"

"Oh, really?" Fancy demanded. "Then what choice do you suggest I make, Aunt Sheridan?!"

"I think you should go to Europe and vacation over there with Julian and Rebecca until Sam and Luis can catch your rapist." Sheridan answered. "Julian cut his trip short to come back to Harmony to be with you. You could get on the Crane jet tomorrow and fly right out of here to a place where you'll be safe and sound."

"You!" Fancy spluttered. "You just want me out of the way so you can have Luis to yourself, Aunt Sheridan! Don't think for one moment I was buying this caring, concerned act you've put on these past couple of days!"

"Don't be ridiculous, Fancy." Sheridan snapped. "I've got Chris and the children, for heaven's sake! I just want Luis to be able to do his job and catch a dangerous criminal … quickly … without having to take time off to be your personal bodyguard and hold your little hand! I don't want this rapist getting me or one of our friends. Why are you being so selfish?"

Fancy was plainly irritated at this and was about to say something when Theresa smoothly interrupted.

"As a matter of fact, Sheridan, Julian is already here. I just got through telling him and Ivy that I'm here to invite Fancy to move back into Crane House and I won't take 'no' for an answer!" Theresa challenged, staring meaningfully into Sheridan's outraged blue eyes with her own large, black fathomless orbs.

"Well if that's the case, I guess I have no choice!" Fancy laughed. "I'll be glad to stay with you at Crane House!"

"I've already had the servants prepare your old bedroom." Theresa said firmly, noticing how Sheridan was inwardly fuming. "Sheridan, I'm sure you can use a break right now. I'll stay with Fancy until Ivy gets back. Why don't you go home to your family?"

Sheridan nodded tightly and stalked from the room with repressed violence.

"Thanks," Fancy said gratefully. "But you really don't have to do this, Theresa. I'm planning to move back to my apartment."

"I'm not doing this because I have to, but because I want to." Theresa replied. "And because it makes the most sense. You know Ivy. She will have Crane Security dogging your every footstep until that bastard is caught. Your neighbors won't like it one little bit. Think of them."

"You're right." Fancy said reluctantly. "But I don't want to leave Lu-Harmony. It's my home."

"Then come home to Crane House." Theresa answered. "There will be tons of servants within earshot and no one is going to get their underwear in a twist if Crane Security is shaking every one down who comes through the front door. It will be like old times when Alistair was still alive."

"I remember!" Fancy giggled humorously.

"Okay then," Theresa laughed. "It's a done deal!"

"Theresa, thank you." Fancy said seriously. "You're such a good woman. Luis told me that you got Jane back … the real Jane. And that Gwen had her own daughter … Jenny … the whole time. That news made my day. I know you don't think so, but Gwen is a good woman, too. That's why I'm so glad that I can be happy for you both!"

"Well, Gwen is responsible for me getting Jane back." Theresa admitted. "I know it was strictly for selfish reasons … she wanted proof that Jenny was hers. But still … once she got it, she could have secretly tipped Heather Hooper off that Hank and Luis were coming for Jane and I would have never gotten my daughter back. So, I guess I owe her one."

"That's true!" Fancy smiled.

"Well, I need your keys so that I can send the servants over to your apartment and pack up your stuff and get your car. I'll send our driver out for you tomorrow morning, okay?" Theresa asked.

"Okay." Fancy said, reaching into her purse and handing Theresa her apartment keys.

The two women said their good-byes and Theresa left for the coffee room to let Ivy and Julian know that Fancy had agreed to stay with her.

As she walked down the hallway to take the elevator to the break room, she was stopped by Sheridan.

"Hello, Sheridan," Theresa said coolly. "I thought you went home to be with your family. You know, the Boothes. Your husband, Chris. Your son, James. Your daughter, Katie?"

"I know who my family is!" Sheridan sniped. "But I wonder if you know who yours is?"

"What do you mean by that?" Theresa demanded.

"Fancy is MY niece, not yours, Theresa!" Sheridan snapped. "How dare you interfere in my family's affairs that way?"

"Fancy is MY friend, not yours! Sheridan" Theresa retorted. "That much is obvious or you wouldn't be trying to use her rape to run her own of town to keep her away from the man she loves and him, I must add, from the woman he loves!"

"That is so much nonsense!" Sheridan protested angrily. "I suggested that my niece go to Europe with my brother for her own safety! If I wanted Luis, I could have him!"

"Fancy will be safe living in the Crane House with me." Theresa insisted. "She'll be in good hands. She'll have my servants in earshot and armed Crane Security all over the place. So, stop worrying, Sheridan. You can go back home and take care of Chris and James and Katie secure in the knowledge that Fancy is safe and Luis can do his job!"

"You may be living in her family home, but you're not her family and that's who Fancy should be with." Sheridan maintained doggedly.

"I am her family. She's Ethan's sister and Jane's aunt." Theresa answered.

"Good God, Theresa!" Sheridan sneered incredulously. "You're already carrying on like Ethan's wife aren't you? Have you forgotten he's still married to Gwen? For that matter, aren't you still married to Jared? Don't you think you should get rid of one man before lining up and latching onto the next man?!"

"And what about you?!" Theresa came back. "Who are you to speak?"

"What do you mean by that?!" Sheridan demanded.

"Pot, meet kettle!" Theresa retorted. "You need to end it with Chris Boothe before you even think about sniffing around Luis again. That is, if he still wants you back, which I highly doubt. You just want to keep my brother on hold in case things, for some reason or another, don't work out with Chris. So, you want to run off any woman he takes up with. Be honest, Sheridan, if Luis was still alone, you wouldn't give him another thought!"

"That's not true!" Sheridan denied Theresa's accusation vehemently. "Just because I'm not comfortable with him dating my niece does not mean I want Luis to live out his life alone!"

"Bull!" Theresa snorted. "I don't care who Luis would take up with, you'd find some way to run her off. I've got your number, Sheridan. To you, Luis doesn't have any needs outside of 'being there' for you. He has no needs of his own. It's okay for you to have someone to love and a family of your own without him. But he can't live independent of you! He's like your property! You don't love him; you own him!"

"Ha!" Sheridan sniffed. "I'd expect you, of all people, to see it that way. Because that describes you and Ethan to a tee. What Luis and I have is so deep and abiding it has survived through the ages. For someone who likes to go on and on and on and on about Fate-UH! wants you to be with Ethan, you're pretty cavalier about Luis and me!"

"Yes, I know the story about all your reincarnations." Theresa commented. "But it plays out the same way each time. Or have you forgotten? Luis dies and you move on to your new love. That's what you thought happened again and you moved on with Chris. But Luis didn't die this time. He's been freed to move on to some other woman. So maybe, that's what this incarnation means, Sheridan. Fate never intended you two to be together. You just thought Fate did, because Death was always the reason before this. Have you ever thought of that?"

"Oh, I should have known you'd come up with some rationale like that, Theresa!" Sheridan sniped bitterly. "I have to admit that Gwen is right. Funny how Fate always seems to accommodate your interpretation of things. How flexible Fate is to your own unique point of view! You just like the idea of Luis being with Fancy, so lo and behold! Fate says that Luis should never have been with me ever! Imagine that!"

"You never had a problem with my interpretation of Fate before this," Theresa commented. "Even when it interfered with your good friend, Gwen's happiness. You told her to get over it and move on. Well, Fate has once again decided that you and Luis are not meant for each other. And this time, my brother didn't have to die to prove that. Get over it and move on, Sheridan."

"The hell, you say!" Sheridan exclaimed. "You'll soon find out how wrong you are about Fate, Theresa. On everything! I love Luis and he loves me and one day, we will be together, just like we are destined to be!"

"You're just a vain, shallow, self-absorbed bitch, Sheridan." Theresa said, losing all patience with her. "You're not the heroine of this piece anymore, so get that through your blonde head. Enjoy your happily ever after with Chris and leave Luis and Fancy be or you are going to tip off everybody else about what you really are, if you're not careful. Too many people are beginning to see through you as is-"

"Oh, really?" Sheridan demanded suspiciously. "Like who?!"

"Like-!" Theresa broke off suddenly. She had been angry enough to say like, Sheridan's good friend, Gwen. But she stopped herself.

"Like who, Theresa?!" Sheridan challenged.

"Like me, Sheridan!" Theresa responded, picking up the gauntlet. "I'm on to you and if you don't back off from Fancy and Luis, I'm going to make sure everyone else knows it, too. Including Chris. He'll take the kids and leave you. Luis will end up with Fancy, anyway. You'll end up all alone, Sheridan. Count on it!"

"Count on this, bitch!" Sheridan raged and, in that moment, Theresa was struck by her resemblance to her father, Alistair Crane. All the softness had left her face. Her normally sweet looking mouth was stretched into a vicious snarl and her formerly gentle blue eyes were like clear steel. "If Luis and I don't get back together because of your interference, I will make you pay and pay dearly if it is the last thing I ever do on this earth!"

"Is that a threat?" Theresa wondered nonchalantly.

"Yes it is. And a promise!" Sheridan snarled, hatred written in every line of her face, and walked off.

Theresa was left shaken by the encounter for a moment. She stopped to exhale and regain her bearings.

Oh well, she had sensed that backing Sheridan off of Luis and Fancy would not be easy. She just wasn't aware that it was going to be this scary. Oh, well. She had been dealing with Gwen and Rebecca for years. And she had won. She had also even triumphed over that bastard, Alistair Crane. Sheridan was going threaten her?! The woman who had bested the man who had driven Sheridan into the nuthouse and beaten her into submission over the years. Please! Who did that bitch think she was fooling, anyway?

With that thought in mind, she got into the elevator and pushed the button to the fourth floor coffee room. The door closed.

I am Theresa Lopez-Fitzgerald Crane Casey. Soon, I will be Mrs. Ethan Winthrop. I will prevail. Just like Fate intended.


	19. A False Truce

Theresa decided to prolong her vacation from Crane Industries until after the Christmas Holidays. Though she had had no problem bonding with Jane since her return, she wanted to solidify their reunion by spending all her spare time getting closer to her long-lost daughter and spend more time with her son. It was a beautiful day outside, so she bundled Jane and Little Ethan up and headed for the park.

Theresa noticed she was not the only parent who had opted for the park, because it was fairly populated. She noticed Kay and Maria with their quirky landlady Tabitha and her daughter, Endora. Tabitha seemed nice enough, but Theresa always felt uncomfortable beneath Tabitha's shrewd, assessing blue eyes, not to mention around the enigmatic sweetness that was Endora. It seemed to Theresa that the two seemed to know her and her secrets better than she wanted anyone to. It was a whimsical notion, but it was true.

Jane quickly recognized the two little girls from the impromptu family reunion celebrating her return and ran over to them. In the meantime, Little Ethan saw a little boy close to his age and was fooling around on the jungle gym with him. Theresa exchanged a few pleasantries with Kay and Tabitha but was too wrapped up in the pleasure of watching Jane play with Maria and Endora, basking in the idea that Jane was completely hers again.

It was getting late and people were slowly but surely leaving the park. After saying their goodbyes, Kay and Tabitha had respectively gathered Maria and Endora and were shepherding them back to Tabitha's boarding house. Theresa decided it was high time for her and her children to head back to Crane House. Taking Jane by the hand, she went to look for Little Ethan who was still wrapped up in play with the little boy she had seen from a distance.

As she approached them, she heard a familiar voice from behind her call to the boy.

"James!" Sheridan cried, "It's time to go home!"

Theresa stiffened and turned around. Sheridan had Katie with her, bundled up in a stroller.

"Oh!" Sheridan exclaimed as if involuntarily. "It's you!"

"Yes, it's me," Theresa said coolly. "Hello, Sheridan."

"I'm sorry I was so abrupt. I know that sounded rude, but I didn't know you were here," Sheridan explained contritely. "Hello, Theresa."

"Apology accepted," Theresa said graciously. "I know I rarely come here anymore as busy as I am at Crane."

"Well, I imagine you want to make up for lost time with Jane," Sheridan reasoned.

"That I do," Theresa smiled. "Thank you for understanding."

"It's exactly what I'd be doing with Marty, if he were here," Sheridan said sadly. "And what I imagine James' late mother would do if she could have her life back and get her time back with him."

"I know," Theresa said sympathetically.

"Mom," Little Ethan distracted Theresa as he came up to her, saying, "Can James come over to Crane House for a sleepover?"

"Sure, sweetie," Theresa said automatically. "James is welcome at Crane House any time he wants to visit. But you'll have to check with your Aunt Sheridan about the sleepover."

"I know what great company Little Ethan is," Sheridan answered. "James will be available for a sleepover or play date anytime you want to invite him. He's getting to an age where he wants to be more independent and socialize. Katie is still too little to entertain him much."

"Well, then, how about if James comes for a sleepover next Friday night?" Theresa asked.

"That would be great," Sheridan answered. "What time do you want me to bring him over?"

"How about after school?" Theresa suggested. "He can have dinner with us."

"That will work out perfectly," Sheridan said. "Chris normally likes to have family dinners with the children and me, but he will be out of town on business that weekend, so he won't object."

"Then about three-thirty, four o'clock in the afternoon?" Theresa pressed.

"It's a date!" Sheridan confirmed, smiling warmly.

Charmed, Theresa dimpled in return. Gathering Little Ethan and Jane, she headed back to Crane House, unaware of the contemptuous sneer Sheridan had on her face as she watched Theresa and her children depart.

Sheridan acted as if she was strolling slowly home, lingering in the park, and making conversation with different mothers here and there. The whole time she scanned the edges of the park closely as if she was waiting for something or someone.

"Mommy," James said, distracting her by tugging on her sleeve. "Aren't we going home?"

"Soon, honey," Sheridan soothed. "Soon."

There was a sudden movement at the edge of the park. The man she had been looking for stepped out, and signaled to her furtively.

Sheridan smiled broadly, mouthed "follow me," and then headed back to her house with James.

Once there, she changed Katie and put her down in her playpen with a bottle while parking James in front of the television with a snack.

"I'll be in the kitchen, cooking dinner," Sheridan told him. "I don't want to be disturbed."

"Yes, mommy," James said dutifully, with a curious look on his face, before turning his attention back to the cartoon on the television.

Sheridan swiftly fled to the kitchen, firmly shutting the door behind her and walked to the door leading to the back porch.

There she found Herbert Lester AKA Spike lounging against the wall there casually.

"Damn, Princess," Spike loudly complained. "I was freezing my ass off back there! Could you have dawdled any longer?!"

"Quiet!" Sheridan hissed with a deadly look in her eye that was cloned from Alistair himself. "You are being well compensated for your time, so stop the whining!"

A look of grudging respect came into Spike's eyes.

"That I am," he agreed. "What can I do you for, Princess?"

"I have a job for you that will take considerable time and patience and cleverness." Sheridan said slowly. "But you will be well rewarded for your effort – if you don't get stupid and screw it up!"

"I'm all ears!" Spike said sarcastically. "What is it?"

"Wait here!" Sheridan ordered him and stepped back into her kitchen, pulling some architectural plans out of a hidden cubbyhole.

She walked out and handed him the paperwork.

"What do you want me to do with a diagram of Crane House?" Spike asked curiously.

"Study it," Sheridan replied. "You will see that this outlines a network of secret tunnels and rooms that my father and his ancestors built in Crane House. I want you to learn it and memorize it like the back of your hand. Especially the passages I have outlined for you."

"Where is this leading to?" Spike enquired.

"This leads to Fancy's bedroom closet," Sheridan told him.

"Why do I want to go there?"

"To sneak into Fancy's room while she is sleeping and scare her." Sheridan said.

"So she can shoot me?" Spike protested. "She's a freaking' police woman!"

"She's a freaking rape victim, now." Sheridan corrected him.

"What?!" Spike said stupidly. "I haven't heard anything about that and I know all the smack on the street."

"That's because the authorities are keeping it under close wraps, hoping to keep the good townspeople of Harmony from panicking," Sheridan explained cynically.

"Why do you want me to scare your niece?" Spike asked, looking at Sheridan oddly.

"She's with the man I love and I want to break them up." Sheridan said as if that explained it all.

"But, I've had a few run-ins with your ex-boyfriend. He's a typical white knight in shining armor type who will only end up falling that much deeper for her, because she's a damsel in distress," Spike warned cynically.

"Not if he doesn't believe her." Sheridan disagreed shrewdly.

"What do you mean?" Spike said. "I'm supposed to scare Fancy; that means I have to rough her up a little bit-"

"No, you won't hurt a hair on her head," Sheridan explained. "You will dress in all black, wear black gloves and a black ski mask and sneak into her room. Then put your hand over her mouth and loom over her in the darkness. Be gentle enough for her to break your hold and scream. Then melt back into the darkness, dart back into the closet and hide in the secret passage way."

"But I'm not going to be able to find my way around her room easily in the dark," Spike claimed.

"I've included a picture of her room and the layout." Sheridan retorted. "Memorize it. Believe me, there is a huge financial incentive for you to play it exactly as I've laid it out."

Spike hesitated.

"Oh, come on Spike," Sheridan said impatiently. "Father once said you were the greediest little rodent in Harmony who would do anything for a buck! Did he misjudge you?"

"Hell, no!" Spike said. "I'm just attached to my skin. That's all. I know damned well that the Cranes have Crane Security all over the place."

"That is why it is important for you to memorize the layouts of Fancy's rooms and the secret tunnels. Not even Crane Security knows about them." Sheridan explained. "Look, Spike, you have someone – me – working with you on the inside. I need you for as long as this takes. I'm not going to allow you to take any unnecessary risks that could screw up my operation. I will have your back!"

"That's what worries me," Spike muttered.

"Then you want to back out?" Sheridan asked. "Then I guess you will be kissing a lot of money bye-bye."

"How much?" Spike asked, his interest piqued.

He blinked as Sheridan named a staggering sum of money.

"I'll do it!" Spike said greedily, then left.

That Friday, Sheridan called Spike to see if he was ready to swing into action. He claimed he was. Sheridan then packed James' overnight bag, bundled Katie into her stroller, picked him up from school and escorted him to Crane House.

Though she feigned it, Sheridan was not surprised to find Sam and Luis with Ethan and Theresa and Julian and Ivy. They were surrounded by Crane Security.

"What's going on?" Sheridan asked innocently. "Is Fancy all right?"

"She's fine," Ivy assured her.

"Problem is, we want to keep her that way," Sam said. "Harmony PD got several calls from a hysterical woman in the Downs Park area claiming that she saw a man in black and a black ski mask lurking about."

"Downs Park?" Sheridan echoed. "That's not too far away-"

"Very close to Crane House's southern border." Luis said. "Near your cottage, Sheridan."

"I haven't noticed anything," Sheridan protested. "It's probably just a false alarm."

"Still, we'd all feel better if you and Katie would join James and spend the night at Crane House," Julian said. "Especially with Chris out of town."

"I don't know," Sheridan fretted uncertainly. "Surely you can have Crane Security make more patrols in that area!"

"I insist!" Theresa said firmly. "You may not be blood-related, but Ethan still looks upon you as an aunt and a friend."

"Are you sure it wouldn't be an imposition?" Sheridan asked hesitantly.

"We'd all feel better if you stayed at Crane House," Ethan reassured her.

"All right, then," Sheridan conceded with an uneasy laugh. "I guess we'll all stay."

Eve came over and Sam and Ivy joined Ethan and Theresa and Sheridan for dinner. Sheridan kept her face impassive as Fancy came downstairs on Luis' arm to join everyone. Though she acted thoroughly detached, the bile rose in her throat as she noticed the loving attention Luis lavished on Fancy. She had to remind herself that soon it would be over with.

Everyone made idle chit chat and then Sheridan joined Theresa in the nursery to put Katie down with Jane. Both women then went to Little Ethan's room where she tenderly kissed James goodnight as Theresa did the same with Little Ethan.

Sheridan thanked Theresa for her hospitality before bidding her good night and then headed back to the room she had been given.

That was too easy, Sheridan thought, marveling at her own cleverness. She had staged the hysterical phone calls to the Harmony Police Department herself, grateful that the officer taking them had not recognized her voice. All it took was a little cleverness to convince that stupid, self-centered little twit Theresa that she had defeated Sheridan and she was backing off of Luis and Fancy. Well, the dummy had underestimated her. Just a little sucking up and Theresa was playing the gracious and merciful Lady Bountiful and practically handing Sheridan the keys to the castle!

Crane House gradually settled down in the peace and quiet darkness and Sheridan relaxed, waiting. She was almost lulled to sleep when she heard Fancy screaming and crying loudly in her room. She quickly turned on the light and ran out into the hallway which was now pandemonium. Trying hard not to laugh, she picked up the pace as she followed everyone to Fancy's room.


	20. The Button

Ever since the rape, Fancy had been experiencing problems sleeping through the night, even though she had to admit that she felt far safer staying in Crane House with the hyper-vigilant Crane Security on patrol. Julian had become concerned about the dark shadows growing steadily under his daughter's eyes, so he had Dr. Eve Russell prescribe her a sleeping pill.

Fancy took the sleeping pill even though she had some wine at dinner. The prescription bottle warned about mixing the drug with alcohol, but she felt that she had eaten enough food during the meal to blunt any effects of mixing the wine with the sleeping pill.

She had nodded off into a dreamless sleep when she suddenly felt like she was smothering. Her eyes flew open frantically. A gloved hand was pressed over her mouth and nose. A face she could not see was looming over her. Instinctively, she knew it was masked in black and started to panic. Her arms flailed upward and she found herself pushing hard against the figure's form. It was solid. Adrenaline made her strong and forced him off of her, by his surprised grunt, she knew it was a man. As her fingers clawed at him frantically, she tore off a button which clattered along the floor.

Fancy was sure it was her attacker again, so she started screaming as loudly as she could. She was so frightened, she sobbed in hysteria, only seeing out of the corner of her eye how he appeared to melt into the wall, but not hearing the creak of her closet door as it opened and closed quietly behind the figure in black.

She heard the heavy boots of Crane Security running up the hall toward her bedroom, the sounds of bare feet padding quickly behind them, and everyone was uttering her name.

"What was that? It sounded like Fancy!"

"Oh my God, Fancy! Hurry!"

"Fancy?! Are you okay?!"

It seemed like everyone burst through the door and the light flicked on.

Blinking owlishly, Fancy looked around and realized that her attacker was nowhere in sight.

"Fancy, what's wrong?" Luis asked.

Scanning the room again, Fancy could see no signs of forced entry. But she was sure he had been there! There was that button!

Thanking God she had been lucky to obtain some evidence by pulling off that button, Fancy said, "The rapist! He got in here somehow! I woke up when I found him covering my mouth with his hand. He was getting on top of me, but I pushed him off!"

"Fancy," Julian said gently. "No one is in here other than us."

"I don't know how, but somehow he got out," Fancy said doggedly.

"Did you see any suspicious activity in or about the house during your patrols?" Julian asked Crane Security.

"No, sir, we didn't, but we'll radio the others," A grim-faced security agent answered.

Luis radioed the police back up who were patrolling the Downs Park neighborhood to see if they had seen or heard any activity coming through Crane Gardens to Downs Park. They reported they had not.

"Sir," the security agent advised Julian. "None of our men patrolling the grounds have seen anything either."

"He may still be in the house," Julian frowned. "Fan out and conduct a room by room search."

"Yes, sir," the security agent said crisply.

"We'll help you," Ethan said grimly. And everyone but Fancy, Luis, and Sheridan left the room.

Fancy waited anxiously as Crane Security fanned out all over the house. She knew it was only a matter of time before they dragged her attacker out from his hiding place and she could stop being so afraid all the time.

Twenty minutes later, the agent returned.

"I'm sorry, sir, but we could find nothing," he reported to Luis and then left.

"Fancy," Luis said hesitantly. "Are you sure you weren't having a nightmare?"

"The button," Fancy said excitedly as Sheridan stepped back and then froze in her tracks.

"The button?" Luis echoed blankly.

"The button," Fancy repeated. "When I was pushing him away from me, I clawed at his coat and a button flew off. I heard it rolling on the floor. That's my proof that he was here!"

Both Luis and Fancy started searching the floor, but could not find it.

"Maybe it rolled underneath some furniture," Sheridan suggested.

"Good idea," Luis said.

He and Fancy went around the room, moving the furniture back and looking beneath it, but to no avail. They did not find the button.

"I don't understand it," Fancy fretted. "I could feel the button in my hand. It was fairly large and cold, like it was metallic and I could feel the engraving as I clawed at it. I heard it hit the floor."

"Well, if you were dreaming," Sheridan commented, "It was very vivid. It almost sounds like you were hallucinating."

Sheridan looked at the sleeping pills on Fancy's nightstand and allowed her gaze to linger on them thoughtfully.

Luis also looked at the sleeping pills.

"Fancy," Sheridan asked slowly, "I remember you had some wine at dinner. Did you take your sleeping pills, too?"

"I did have some wine," Fancy answered defensively. "But I didn't drink a lot!"

"But you took your sleeping pill, too?" Sheridan pressed.

"Yes," Fancy admitted reluctantly.

"Fancy, you know, from your police training, that it's not wise to mix alcohol with sleeping pills," Luis reminded her with firm gentleness. "But here, the label clearly says it's to be avoided."

"I know I screwed up," Fancy told Luis apologetically. "But I thought I ate enough food with the wine to blunt any bad effects."

"Well, one of those bad effects could have caused you this hallucination," Sheridan reasoned.

"You've been through a terrible trauma," Luis agreed. "It's natural that you'd suffer some anxiety and nightmares from this ordeal and the combination of the wine and the pill could have intensified everything to the point that you thought it was all real."

"I-I guess so," Fancy said uncertainly, feeling totally frustrated. "But it seemed so real!"

"That's why they call them hallucinations," Sheridan commented.

Fancy looked at her sharply, but Sheridan's expression conveyed nothing but sympathy.

"I'm tired," Fancy said sullenly. "I think I'll go back to sleep."

"I can stay with you," Sheridan offered solicitously.

"No!" Fancy snapped. "I mean, I appreciate your offer, Aunt Sheridan, but I really want to be alone."

"Are you sure?" Sheridan pressed. "It's no bother, really. I don't mind"

"I do," Fancy said firmly. "I'm sure I won't be able to close my eyes with you in the room. I'm sorry. I didn't mean the words to come out that way."

Fancy felt embarrassed. Her Aunt Sheridan had been nothing but kindness itself to her after the rape, so Fancy was rather ashamed of the way she didn't feel like she could relax around the woman since it happened. It's not like her aunt was responsible for her attack. Fancy knew she had set herself up for that once she defied Luis to go on a stakeout she had not received enough training for.

"I understand, Fancy," Sheridan assured her soothingly. "Luis, are you ready to go?"

"Sure," Luis said easily. He leaned over the bed that Fancy was sitting on and kissed her gently on the cheek. "Good night, Fancy, I love you."

"I love you, too, Luis," Fancy said, putting her arms around him to look nervously at Sheridan over his shoulder. To her relief, Sheridan appeared to be discreetly studying Fancy's bedroom curtains as if she was trying to give them a private moment without being too obvious.

Luis left Fancy's room, holding the door open for Sheridan to pass through and then shutting it gently but firmly behind them. After a long pause, they noticed the light shining underneath Fancy's door go off and heard her bed creak as she got into it.

Luis then escorted Sheridan back to her room.

"Good night Sheridan," Luis told her before heading off to his room.

Sheridan watched his retreating back hungrily as he entered his room and shut the door behind him, feeling rather deflated that he hadn't taken her in his arms like he used to and kiss her passionately good night. It had hurt like hell to watch him with her treacherous niece in his arms even though she had learned to cover well. Oh well, at least she had manipulated Fancy into insisting that she wanted to spend the night alone in her room tonight, much as she was sure Fancy wanted to keep Luis protectively at her side. At least she could take cold comfort in that.

Sheridan went to sleep on that somewhat satisfying note.

Sheridan woke up late the next morning because she was loath to wake up from the glorious dreams she was having. Fancy was back with Noah. Somehow, Marty had been found alive and well, because she and Luis were sitting on her couch in the cottage. Luis had Katie in his arms and they were watching Marty and James playing video games on the television. She didn't know where Chris was, but she instinctively knew he was no longer in the picture, because all the children were calling Luis "Daddy."

Wondering what, if anything the dream could mean or if it was just a manifestation of her own wishful thinking, Sheridan descended the staircase where she would cut through the main living room to go to the kitchen and have breakfast. She was ravenously hungry.

As she entered the living room, she stopped short. It was filled with people and Crane Security were milling around.

"Sheridan," Julian said grimly. "Come in, we've been waiting for you."

Everyone in the room was staring at her with solemn speculation on their faces. Like they were worried about her fragile state of mind, Sheridan realized.

Turning pale, Sheridan came in, terrified. Spike had been caught by Crane Security and spilled the beans. Now everyone knew that little rat had been hired by her to gaslight Fancy. The ramifications were going be terrible. No, it wouldn't end up with jail time. The Cranes wouldn't stand for a scandal like that. However, Sheridan would be "taken care of." The last time she had bucked Alistair, shortly before she had met Luis, she had been given an extended stay in a private sanitarium to deal with her "emotional issues." Chris would find out about her antics and be awarded full custody of James and Katie. Sheridan would be ostracized by everyone she loved, a pariah in their eyes.

"Julian," Sheridan faltered uncertainly. "I can see by your expressions something terrible has happened. What's wrong? Is Fancy all right?"

"Fancy is fine," Julian said shortly. "Sheridan, you need to sit down."

"Don't keep me in suspense, Julian," Sheridan begged, sitting down hard as her legs gave way underneath her. What's wrong?"

"Sheridan, you must be strong for your children," Julian said gently but firmly. "Chris was found in his hotel room by the maid about an hour ago. He's dead, Sheridan."

Sheridan felt like she was about to faint.

"Dead?" She echoed disbelievingly. "Dead! Murdered?!"

That was incredible. Chris Boothe didn't have an enemy in the world!

"No, Sheridan," Julian said. "Not murdered. No suicide or drug overdose, either. A preliminary check by the medical examiner's team indicates that it appears to be natural causes. They'll know for sure after the autopsy."

Sheridan sat there in a state of shock as everyone gathered around her to express their sympathy and support. She could only murmur her gratitude as she stared numbly around the room with a slowly growing ache in her heart. The moment felt so surreal. She was convinced she was still dreaming. She had to be! Chris Boothe was a vital, healthy man in his physical prime! He was a newlywed and the father of two young children. This couldn't be real.

Slowly, woodenly, Sheridan got up and headed back towards the stairs like a very old person with an advanced state of arthritis.

"Sheridan," Theresa asked. "Where are you going?"

Sheridan turned around and faced the room blankly.

"I need to take my children and go home," Sheridan told them. "Katie is too young to realize that- that her Daddy is gone, but James isn't. I have to break the news to him and I want to do it in a safe, familiar place. I-I don't want him to find out he lost his father the same way he lost his mother."

"All right," Theresa said, "But Fancy's rapist is still at large and there were those calls about him being spotted in the Downs Park area. With Chris … no longer around … to provide immediate protection, I insist that you and the children move into Crane House until he is caught."

"Very well," Sheridan said woodenly. "I'll pack up some things for the children and me and bring them back here later this evening."

In a daze, she turned toward the stairs to see Fancy and Luis descend, hand in hand.

From the sad, compassionate expressions on their faces, Sheridan could tell they already knew.

"Aunt Sheridan," Fancy said gently. "Pilar just told us about Chris. We're so sorry."

Us. We. Fancy was referring to Luis and herself as a couple. Those words were like daggers to Sheridan's heart.

"If there is anything we can do to help you get through this time, just let us know," Luis added sympathetically. There he was, too, referring to himself and Fancy in "couple" words.

Like Sheridan was not his old lover but a casual acquaintance, she noticed with a pang in her heart. He didn't take her in his arms to console her by letting her cry on his shoulder. He was this formal, detached, sympathetic stranger to her and it was all Fancy's fault! Sheridan was sure that he'd be warm and tender to her if he was not sleeping with her niece. He'd welcome this opportunity to win her back!

"Thank you, Fancy …. Luis, I appreciate that," Sheridan muttered. Without further looking at them, she marched up the stairs, with grim determination, to get her children and take them home.

She took the children home and gently broke the news to James that his father was dead, crying with the little boy as he wept, and consoling him as best she could by holding him in her arms and rocking him to sleep. Then she went to their rooms to pack suitcases to take back to Crane House.

She went to the kitchen to pour herself some soothing tea when she heard a furtive scratching at her kitchen door. Frowning, she opened it and found Spike smirking at her door.

"Well, well," Spike grinned. "If it isn't the Merry Widow!"

Sheridan glared at him.

"I take it you've heard that Chris is dead. It's nothing to joke about!"

"Oh?" Spike wondered innocently. "You're actually carrying on like you're grieving over that poor sap! With me, of all people! You didn't off him while I was scaring the living daylights out of poor little Fancy Pants?"

"No!" Sheridan snapped. "Chris wasn't murdered nor did he commit suicide. The coroner thinks it was natural causes. We won't know until the autopsy."

"So," Spike commented. "The poor bastard had the sense to check out before you evicted him, eh? Good for him! That's very convenient for you! I guess you're free to move in on your ex, now and will no longer be needing my services, hunh? I'll collect my full payment now!"

"Not so fast," Sheridan said. "I still have need of your services."

"What?" Spike muttered. "Princess, you're free now. There's no husband standing in your way anymore."

"There's still my niece," Sheridan said grimly.

"So?" Spike demanded. "It's not like they're married and with all the history with you and that schmuck, you'll have him eating out of your hand in no time!"

"Luis and Fancy are now lovers," Sheridan said. "Moreover, she's just been raped. Luis is too honorable to leave her now no matter how much he may still want to get back together with me. That is why you have to help me make Fancy break it off with Luis."

"How do you propose to do that?" Spike asked curiously.

"Fancy is enough like me that she will get angry with Luis if he doesn't believe her. We will continue to gaslight her until it is obvious to him, at least, that she is just imagining things. Either she will be forced to conclude that she cannot feel safe here in Harmony and decide to move back to Europe or she will get turned off by Luis when she realizes he doesn't believe her."

"Yeah, but if she moves to Europe, she could take Luis with her," Spike pointed out.

"No, she won't, because Luis shares very close ties with his family and then there is his job. They will be done and over with and I will be in Harmony to pick up the pieces!"

"Okay, how do you want me to do this?"

"It will be much easier now," Sheridan told him. "It would have looked very suspicious indeed if Fancy's 'imaginary attacks' only coincided with my visits to Crane House. If Chris was still alive to keep me company at the cottage, I would have to either make them rare or come up with the necessary logistics to help you get in and out of Crane House without anyone being aware I was there, too. Now that Chris is gone, I will be living there until Fancy's rapist is caught."

"Well, that's good," Spike said thoughtfully. "When do you want me to do it again?"

"Not now," Sheridan said. "Crane Security and the police are still on hyper-alert after last night. We'll wait for things to calm down. I figure Chris' funeral in a few days will be the right time to strike. Everyone will be too involved in that."

"Okay, I'll wait for your call, then," Spike said with a shrug.

"Oh, and Spike?"

"Yeah?"

"Wear something with no buttons," Sheridan said, handing him a hard, brass, engraved button. "Fancy tore this off last night and I had to stand on it bare-footed for several minutes to keep Luis from finding it. I'm surprised I'm not limping this morning."


	21. The Vow

It had taken Gwen some time to network with the mothers in her neighborhood and her old friends in Boston, but after reviewing several recommendations and visiting several centers, she had found the perfect day school for Jenny. When she had brought Jenny there to ascertain how comfortable her daughter felt in that environment, it was plain that Jenny felt safe, secure and entertained there, delighting in making new friends. Gwen immediately signed the contract on the dotted line and planned to start taking Jenny there for a few hours each day so she wouldn't be so bored.

Jon-Louis was thriving. Gwen always thought her little miracle from God was beautiful from the moment she laid eyes on him, but she objectively ascribed that to her own maternal bias. But now it was evident to the world as they marveled at his golden wavy hair, his big blue eyes framed by sable, arching eyebrows and long, curly lashes and his rosy cheeks, one old man describing him as a Botticelli angel and a female passing by his stroller, looked down and called him a cherub.

The highlight of Gwen's day was waking up to the sound of Jenny talking to Jon while he crooned back at her and seeing her children smile as she came into the nursery to start the day with them. The only thing that kept her life from being perfect these days was that there was no one to share it with, she thought to herself, with a wistful sigh. Then she quickly gave herself a mental shake. Better to enjoy two living children alone than mourn two dead children with someone who plainly didn't give a damn!

Gwen jumped as the phone rang and rushed over to answer it.

"Hello?"

"Gwen, it's me," Ethan's voice surprised her.

"Ethan, why are you calling me?" Gwen asked.

"I'm sorry to bother you, Gwen, but this is something I think you would want to know," Ethan said apologetically.

"Ethan, what is it?"

"I'm afraid it's bad news. Very bad news, Gwen," Ethan said sadly. "Chris Boothe was found dead in his hotel room the other day."

"Chris? Dead?" Gwen echoed. "Ethan, what happened? He wasn't … murdered … was he?"

"No," Ethan answered. "The autopsy shows that Chris died of a ruptured aorta. Unusual for a man so young. That sort of thing wouldn't normally happen until he was in his fifties, but not impossible, either. Even before the autopsy, the coroner was quick to assure us that there were no signs of foul play or drug overdose."

"Oh, my God!" Gwen exclaimed. "Poor Sheridan! That's three losses in just one year! How is she holding up?"

"She's trying to be strong for the children, but she's devastated." Ethan answered. "I think she'll be very grateful for the support of her best friend when you come to the funeral. I knew you wouldn't be able to stay away. It's this Friday."

"Of course, I'll be there," Gwen said instinctively then mentally kicked herself as she suddenly remembered Jon-Louis. Aside from Hank and Luis, no one was supposed to know about him. Not until after Ethan and Theresa married and had a son of their own. That was the only way Gwen was convinced that he could survive Gwen making his existence known to the people in Harmony.

"I knew you couldn't let Sheridan down. She needs you desperately, Gwen," Ethan said. "After all, she gave up Luis because she was pregnant by Chris and expected to raise a family with him. Now, he's gone and Luis is with Fancy. As much as she tries to hold it together and act like it doesn't bother her, I believe she still has strong feelings for him. That's why I'm glad you're coming."

"I'll come if you think my presence at Chris' funeral will help Sheridan," Gwen promised. "But I can't stay more than a couple of days, Ethan. I have my own life to get back to in Boston and quite frankly, I don't have any desire to have my nose rubbed into your new life with Theresa any more than Sheridan may want to eat her heart out over Luis and Fancy."

"I understand, Gwen, and I'm sorry," Ethan said sympathetically. "That's why I am hesitant to ask you to do something for me, too."

"What is it, Ethan?" Gwen asked curiously.

"Could I please see Jenny?" Ethan begged.

"Jenny?" Gwen echoed stupidly. "Why do you want to see Jenny?"

"She's my daughter, Gwen."

"You already have a daughter." Gwen said waspishly.

"Are you talking about Jane?" Ethan asked.

"Who else would I be talking about, Ethan?" Gwen sniped bitterly. "Unless there is something both Theresa and I need to know…?"

"No," Ethan said. "As far as I know, Jane and Jenny are my only children."

"There's Sarah and Nathan," Gwen pointed out acidly.

"Gwen, please." Ethan sighed.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't realize you were only talking about your living children."

"Gwen," Ethan remonstrated. "Must we go there again?"

"Yes, we must." Gwen retorted firmly. "You are with a woman who has proven herself to be a danger to my children's health. Now you want me to expose my daughter to her?"

"Gwen," Ethan protested. "That's not fair. Theresa thought of and loved Jenny as her own daughter for over the first two years of her life."

"But now Theresa knows that Jenny is not her own. She's mine. That changes everything."

"It changes nothing, Gwen. You're being ridiculous. You don't fall out of love with a child."

"Not even if you discover who your real 'love' is?" Gwen asked sarcastically.

"Not even then. Theresa loves Jane. Passionately. But she still has fond, loving memories of Jenny when she thought she was hers. She would never hurt her, Gwen."

"Tell that to Nathan and Sarah! She saw them as obstacles in her path to you, so she removed them!"

"I'll admit that Theresa was reckless and negligent around Sarah and Nathan, but she was young and thoughtless. Theresa has matured since then. Now she's adult enough to know that I don't have to divorce Jenny to divorce you. Are you, Gwen?"

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?!"

"Jenny and Jane are sisters, not rivals. I am Jenny and Jane's father. I'm not Jenny's husband, nor am I Jane's fiancée. Jane is not Theresa anymore than Jenny is you. I think you are engaged in a little transference here, Gwen."

"Very well, Ethan, I will bring Jenny," Gwen snapped. "But I am not leaving her side!

"Gwen, please!" Ethan argued.

"I mean it, Ethan!" Gwen interrupted. "Until I am satisfied that Theresa can be trusted alone around Jenny, I will not be leaving her side. If this arrangement is disagreeable to you, I will be leave her with my father in Boston!""All right, Gwen," Ethan sighed in defeat. "Once you see how much Theresa has changed since getting Jane back, you will feel more comfortable with her around Jenny."

After Gwen got off the phone with Ethan, she called her father.

"Gwyneth!" Jonathan said warmly. "How delightful it is to hear your voice! How are my beautiful, intelligent grandchildren?"

"Oh, beautiful and intelligent," Gwen laughed. "How would you like to have your grandson stay with you for a couple of days, Father?"

"I'd love to have him, Gwyneth, but why aren't you and Jenny coming over?"

"We're going to Harmony for a couple of days."

"Harmony?" Jonathan echoed. "Why are you doing that, Gwyneth?"

"Sheridan lost her husband a few days ago. I'm going to the funeral to give her my support and Ethan asked me to bring Jenny so he could visit her."

"Gwyneth, are you sure that's wise? Surely, Sheridan will have the support of the rest of her family?"

"I'm sure, Father," Gwen assured him. "I'm sure that Julian and Ivy will do everything imaginable to help her through Chris' death, but there is a complication."

"What is that?"

"Her niece Fancy is involved with Sheridan's ex-lover."

"I imagine such an liaison is distasteful to your friend, Gwyneth, but is that a reason to go back to Harmony and re-open newly healed wounds where Ethan is concerned?"

"Believe me, Father, I wouldn't go if I didn't believe Sheridan needs me. You see, as … distasteful … as I find Ethan's … liaison … with Theresa, I've resigned myself to it. Ethan hasn't been mine since she came into our lives. Before I found … Jane, I could deny it to myself. Having only … Jenny … around made it easy to ignore reality."

"Gwyneth, I wouldn't be concerned if I thought this was just about your attachment to Ethan," Jonathan said fervently. "Frankly, I don't think it was as strong as when you first married him. What worries me more is how strong your hatred of this young woman is. It has been my experience that hatred is often a stronger motivator than love. Please remember that your hatred of her cost you Nathan and Sarah and allow only your love for Jenny and Jon-Louis to motivate your every move around Miss Lopez-Fitzgerald."

"I will," Gwen reassured her father. "I promise you."

"Then I will be happy to host my grandson while you and Jenny go to Harmony."

"Thanks, Father."

Jonathan got off the phone with his daughter, his handsome aristocratic face marred by a slight frown.

He wasted no time in dialing Julian's private number.

"Jonathan!" Julian exclaimed in surprise, "What can I do for you?"

"Gwyneth just informed me about the death of Sheridan's husband. I wanted to extend my condolences," Jonathan explained. "She will be coming to Harmony to attend Boothe's funeral and support his widow."

"I assume you are coming, too?" Julian asked.

"No, unfortunately, I have a … guest … I must entertain," Jonathan said. "So Gwyneth will have to represent the Hotchkiss family. However, she is bringing her daughter with her so that she may visit her father."

"That's wonderful news!" Julian remarked. "I'm sure Ethan will be gratified to hear it."

"I need you to make sure that everyone keeps Gwyneth in ignorance of Theresa Lopez-Fitzgerald's marriage to Jared Casey. She may have filed for divorce from Ethan, but she still isn't completely acclimated to life as a single woman again. I don't want any relapses. Especially any caused by false hopes stemming from what will doubtless be the Caseys' short-lived marriage now that Jane has been found."

"I'll spread the word." Julian assured Jonathan. "Believe me, we Cranes have nothing but sympathy for your daughter and don't want her to suffer any more pain over Ethan and Theresa. We want her to move on with her life as much as you do."

"That's a relief." Jonathan said. "I thank you."

Sheridan returned with her luggage and children to Crane House. Numbly, she followed the servants up the stairs where she watched them go down the hallway to her old bedroom with her luggage. She then took James and Katie to the nursery. She was touched and impressed over how Little Ethan sympathetically tried to distract James from his grief by allowing him to pick the game they would play. Katie, who was too young to realize that her Daddy was never coming home again, joyfully tumbled into the waiting arms of the jolly nursemaid who loved cuddling her.

It was only after she left the nursery and headed up the hallway towards her old bedroom that reality hit her like a vicious punch to the stomach. Chris and all the sweetness and sanity that he offered was gone. And Sheridan was all alone, with no one to lean on.

Feeling she was about to collapse and lose control, Sheridan hurried to her room, blinded by tears. So intent was she on getting to her destination, she gasped in surprise when she bumped into something warm and solid.

"Ex-excuse me." She choked out an apology and tried to move on by, but strong hands gripped her shoulders.

"Sheridan," she heard Luis say sympathetically and she started to sob incoherently.

"It's all right, it's all right. Let it out," Luis soothed, taking her into his arms as she clung to him.

He stroked her hair and continued to soothe her while she released her grief in his arms.

She wept until she could weep no more.

"Feeling a little better now?" Luis asked sympathetically.

"Yes," Sheridan sniffled. "I'm sorry I was such a weakling."

"You can't be strong all the time. That's what you have friends for. To lean on."

Sheridan's eyes filled with tears again.

"Thank you, Luis," she whispered.

Luis patted her shoulder and then headed off towards Fancy's room, as Sheridan watched him leave. Being in his arms again felt so real and so right. The way things should have been all along. It never seemed fair that the sweetness and sanity she had enjoyed with Chris had been denied to her with Luis. It made Sheridan all the more determined to get him back.

"I know what you're thinking, but it won't work," Theresa's voice startled Sheridan out of her reverie.

"Theresa?!" Sheridan whirled around to face Theresa's sympathetic but challenging stare.

"Luis is in love with Fancy, now. Just because Chris is dead and you are now available does not mean that Luis is going to come back to you, Sheridan."

"How dare you?!" Sheridan gasped in outrage. "Just what are you implying?!"

"I'm implying nothing," Theresa said calmly. "I'm just telling you the way it is. You may no longer have Chris, but you no longer have Luis, either. He's with Fancy, now."

"I'm well aware that Luis is with Fancy, now, Theresa!" Sheridan huffed indignantly. "The only thing on my mind is how I can get through Chris' burial and carry on without him. For you to accuse me of chasing Luis at a time like this is outrageous even for you, Theresa!"

"Then how come I found you hanging all over my brother?"

"For God's sakes, Theresa!" Sheridan exploded. "I didn't seek him out. It just hit me that Chris was truly gone and I started to cry. I bumped into Luis. He comforted me, that's all! In fact, I don't owe you any explanations. It's none of your damned business!"

"I'm sorry if I read more into the situation than what really was," Theresa apologized. "But I'm Fancy's friend, so that makes it my business. I'm putting you on notice that I have her back, Sheridan, so forget any ideas that may come up about breaking her and Luis up."

Feeling like she would slap the shit out of the little bitch if she didn't walk away, Sheridan nodded coldly and turned her back on Theresa to head to her room.

"Julian!" Sheridan exclaimed. She felt rather than saw Theresa turn around to face Julian, too.

"I'm glad I caught you both," Julian said. "Jonathan called to let me know that Gwen will be coming to support Sheridan at Chris' funeral."

"Oh," Theresa said flatly, advancing until she was by Sheridan's side.

"That's so sweet of her," Sheridan breathed.

"She'll be bringing Jenny with her so that Ethan can see her."

"Okay," Theresa said without much enthusiasm, wondering just how much trouble this visit would stir up.

"Of course, she would," Sheridan said smugly, arching her eyebrow at Theresa significantly. "Ethan is Jenny's father, too!"

"Jonathan asks that everyone keep Gwen in ignorance of Theresa's marriage to Jared Casey." Julian continued as both women listened intently. "After all, Ethan and Gwen are still legally married, they share Jenny and Jonathan is worried that she may seize on this news as a pretext to hold onto Ethan."

"I'll order the staff to keep their mouths shut," Theresa said grimly. "I guess you're going to spread the word to everyone else. She won't be staying in Harmony that long, will she?"

"Only for a few days; a fortnight at most." Julian said. "She's got her own home and, according to Jonathan, some pressing business to get back to in Boston."

"Well, that's a relief!" Theresa snapped. "You can be sure that I won't tell that bitch!"

Sheridan had watched this exchange with great interest. She saw how rattled Theresa was, finding out that Gwen was going to be back in Harmony with her own daughter, even if it was only for a few days.

It just occurred to her that if Gwen moved back to Harmony to fight Theresa for Ethan, Theresa would be too distracted in her battle with Gwen to interfere with Sheridan and Luis.

However, if Theresa found out that Sheridan was responsible for Gwen's return, she'd evict Sheridan from Crane House. She'd waste no time letting Luis know that Sheridan brought Gwen back. Sheridan new that Luis would not be happy with Sheridan for this, because he wanted Theresa to be happy with Ethan and didn't want Gwen hurt by him anymore.

Sheridan was determined to bring Gwen back to Harmony, but this matter had to be handled with great delicacy.

"She won't hear anything from my mouth!" Sheridan vowed loudly for Julian and Theresa's benefit. She walked to her room and made as if to go in.

Julian and Theresa nodded at her and went on their way.

"But she will from her mother's!" Sheridan said aloud with a sly smile on her face.


	22. No Love Lost

Theresa hung up the phone with a slight frown marring her dark, lovely features. That was a call from Mortimer Funeral Home that Chris' body had arrived that Wednesday morning. They would be embalming him that evening and be holding the viewing the very next day.

Theresa sighed in exasperation. That meant that Gwen would arrive with Jenny tomorrow, on Thursday and stay for the viewing, through the Rosary Service that evening, the wake on Friday evening and the funeral mass and burial on Saturday. With any luck, Gwen would head back to Boston sometime on Sunday. As far as Theresa was concerned, the earlier she did so, the better. But, knowing that bitch the way she did, Gwen would probably delay her departure as long as possible if it meant making Ethan feel torn and guilty for allowing Theresa to break up his home with her and Jenny.

"I had a meeting with household staff to give them your orders, mija," Pilar said, coming into the living room. "They all understand not to say a word to Gwen about your marriage to Jared or they will lose their positions and any hope of a good reference, too."

"Did you remind them to address me only as Mrs. Crane, not Mrs. Casey?" Theresa asked.

"I sure did. It won't be easy for them to slip up. Your marriage to Jared was so recent and he's been gone so long, that they still think of you as Mrs. Crane," Pilar explained.

"Good," Theresa said shortly. "Gwen will be flying in on her broom tomorrow. She'll be bringing Jenny with her to see Ethan."

"Fine," Pilar acknowledged. "I'll have the servants prepare her a room."

"Don't bother," Theresa snapped. "Gwen can stay at a hotel. Just make sure the nursery has made accommodations for Jenny."

"All right," Pilar nodded briskly and then left the room.

The next morning, Gwen was taking a leisurely drive to Harmony with Jenny strapped in her car seat in back. She had promised Ethan that she wouldn't return to Boston until Sunday afternoon, though she would have preferred to leave Harmony right after the funeral on Saturday morning.

She could have taken a plane and got there faster, but she preferred the autonomy of her own vehicle so she wouldn't be bound to any flight schedules. That way, if Theresa ran true to type, and made the visit totally unbearable for her, Gwen had the option of grabbing Jenny and getting the hell out of there that much faster.

Gwen frowned delicately as several motorists passed her vehicle with a reproachful look at her and looked at her speedometer. She was going well below the speed limit. Talk about dragging one's heels! Oh well, she decided, the sooner I get this ordeal over with, the sooner I'll be done with it! She pressed down on the accelerator to keep pace with the highway traffic.

Gwen already missed Jon-Louis. Still, her little boy was happy to see his grandfather and tumbled joyfully into Jonathan's arms when she brought him over. Jonathan had already engaged the services of a very capable nanny and she had given her Jonathan's food, along with the breast milk she had expressed and frozen for this purpose. She had packed her breast pump in her luggage, but didn't anticipate anyone catching her use it, since she had booked a room at the Harmony Hilton for her and Jenny.

Finally, she rolled into Harmony, drove up to the highest hill overlooking the town that Crane House sat on and made her way up the long, winding driveway. She would stop by long enough to visit Sheridan and let Ethan know she was there. Then she planned to take Jenny and check into her hotel room that night. There she would enjoy some room service and relax with her daughter.

Gwen unstrapped her seat belt, grabbed her purse and Jenny's diaper bag, then got Jenny out of her car seat in the back and walked through the large veranda to the front door and rang the bell.

"Hello, Gwen," Pilar said politely, smiling sweetly at the sight of Jenny clutching her stuffed lion.

"Hello, Pilar," Gwen said calmly. "Please let Ethan know I'm here."

"Actually he already knows," Pilar informed her. "Security radioed ahead that you were on your way as you entered the driveway. They're expecting you."

"Great!" Gwen said sarcastically.

She followed Pilar into the living room where, it appeared, everyone had gathered together; Julian, Eve, Sam, Ivy, Fox, Kay, Sheridan, Luis, Fancy, and the gruesome twosome, Ethan and Theresa.

"Hello, Gwen," Theresa greeted her coolly.

"Theresa," Gwen replied, in tones that were even frostier.

"Jenny!" Ethan cried enthusiastically. "Come to Daddy!" He urged, walking up to Gwen and holding out his arms. Jenny smiled sweetly and tumbled into his arms.

Keeping a cautious eye on Theresa, Gwen wasted no time in stepping forward and opening her arms to Sheridan.

"Oh, honey," she said embracing her best friend. "I'm so sorry to hear about Chris. How are you holding up? Are you all right?"

"I'm doing about as well as can be expected," Sheridan murmured tragically. "Katie is too young to understand that her Daddy is never coming back. James understands just enough to be sad and confused."

"Oh, that poor little boy!" Gwen exclaimed in pity.

As Sheridan stepped back, Gwen held onto her hands and squeezed them sympathetically.

Luis and Fancy walked up next to Sheridan to join them.

Impetuously, Fancy stepped forward and embraced Gwen warmly.

"Oh, Fancy, it's so good to see you," Gwen said. "I heard about your … accident … and was worried about what I would find. But you look great!"

"Thank you!" Fancy exclaimed, gratified. "You look great, too. It looks like 'new motherhood' agrees you!"

Startled, Gwen looked at Luis with a question in her eyes only to see him subtly shake his head in the negative.

She was relieved when Fancy qualified her cryptic statement as she stepped back.

"Luis told me about you finding Jane and sending her back to Theresa with Ethan the moment he came back from Boston the night of my … accident. I'm so thankful that Theresa got her little girl back! Then, of course, he told me that you had your own biological daughter all along. It was just the news I needed to hear! I'm so happy for you, Gwen!" Fancy bubbled on enthusiastically.

Gwen relaxed, her polite facsimile that only vaguely resembled a smile becoming genuine for the first time that evening.

"Thank you," Gwen beamed. "How is Jane settling into her new home?"

"It's like she never left," Luis told her, stepping forward and giving Gwen a big bear hug as Sheridan and Fancy flanked him. "Hi, Gwen, you look great!"

Gwen closed her eyes in pleasure, relishing the feel of Luis' arms around her and the sensation of being pressed against his warm, muscular form his warm cheek against her cool one. Oh, how I love him! The thought came unbidden in her mind, as she was filled with longing.

She knew her feelings were probably written all over her face, so she distracted herself by searching out Ethan to check on Jenny. She promptly became alarmed when she saw Ethan without Jenny. He had a drink in each hand and was making his way back to the couch.

Feeling sick to her stomach, she looked where he was headed and saw Theresa on the couch with Jenny in her lap, watching Gwen intently. Furious with that idiot for leaving her daughter with the one person Gwen wanted to remain off-limits to her, she abruptly excused herself and made her own way to the couch.

Theresa had used her vantage point to watch Gwen's interactions with Sheridan, Luis, and Fancy. She knew that Gwen was Sheridan's best friend and her first loyalties were to her, but she also knew that, since Rome, Gwen had gotten very close to Luis. Also, with the cryptic warning that Gwen had conveyed to Theresa about Sheridan where Fancy was concerned through an unsuspecting Luis, she was reasonably sure that Gwen had become fond of Fancy, too. However, Theresa knew how loyal Gwen was to Sheridan, so the question was whether Gwen was trying to protect Fancy from Sheridan or Sheridan from herself?

Then, Theresa saw something that disturbed her; Gwen's expression when her eyes first beheld Ethan. It was so filled with such intense longing for her estranged husband it was palpable. Theresa just knew that Gwen still loved Ethan and wanted him back! She saw the emotion on Gwen's expressive face change to alarm when she realized Ethan didn't have Jenny. Then it changed to horror when she realized Theresa had her. Then it changed to swiftly repressed rage followed by a cold determination written in every line of her face as she headed toward Ethan and Theresa.

"Excuse me," Gwen smiled tersely and made her way through the room.

"Uh-oh," Sheridan heard Fancy mutter to Luis who nodded and went after Gwen, tensing up, like he expected to break up a fight.

Both women looked at each other and followed Luis, hot on his heels.

Ethan had just sat down and was handing Theresa a drink with a broad smile on his face when he felt rather than saw a shadow looming over them and heard the room go silent. He looked up into Gwen's glittering eyes and accusing expression and felt immediately guilty.

"Gwen, I-" Ethan started to say that he could explain, but Gwen cut him off.

"Jenny," Gwen cooed, holding out her arms to her daughter, "Come to Mommy. I've missed you."

Jenny started to lean forward, but was restrained by Theresa who defensively gripped her tighter.

Gwen's eyes flashed a warning at Theresa and she leaned forward and pulled Jenny off of Theresa's lap and out of her arms. Then she faced Ethan and the rest of the room.

"Well," she said crisply. "I'm sorry to cut our visit short-"

"What?" Ethan exclaimed in alarm. "Are you heading back to Boston already? You and Jenny just got here, Gwen!"

"No," Gwen explained patiently. "I'm staying in Harmony until Sunday. It's just that Jenny and I are both tired, so I want to get settled into our hotel room as quickly as possible."

"A hotel?" Ethan asked stupidly.

"Yes, a hotel," Gwen answered. "We'll be staying at the Harmony Hilton."

Sheridan saw that the look of relief on Theresa's face was so obvious it was comical.

"I'm not surprised you would want to stay at Harmony Hilton," Theresa said a tad too cheerfully. "I heard it's a wonderful hotel. But surely, Jenny can stay with Ethan at Crane House."

"Jenny will be staying with me at the Harmony Hilton," Gwen said firmly in a tone that brooked no arguments.

"But you brought Jenny to Harmony to visit with Ethan," Theresa persisted with an edge to her voice.

"And Jenny can visit with Ethan at the Harmony Hilton." Gwen said, enunciating each word slowly as if she was talking to a particularly backward child in a way that was bound to infuriate Theresa.

"That's ridiculous!" Theresa snarled, bridling at this.

"I'm sorry you find my position ridiculous," Gwen apologized insincerely. "But then it's obvious that Ethan didn't tell you that, when he called to ask me to bring Jenny to Harmony to visit, I made it clear that I wouldn't be leaving her side."

"Ethan, I hope you weren't so naïve to think that you could maneuver or sweet talk me into leaving Jenny alone with Theresa," Gwen said, staring at Ethan coldly.

"Just what are you talking about?" Theresa demanded.

"Sarah. Nathan. And my determination not to take any chances with my sole surviving daughter," Gwen said acidly.

Sheridan watched this exchange with great interest, noting how Theresa was too engaged in her battle with Gwen over asserting her own position with Ethan to pay attention to Sheridan, Luis, and Fancy.

"Gwen," Ethan remonstrated. "Jenny is not going to be alone with Theresa. She'll be spending the bulk of her time with her sister, Jane, and Little Ethan. Not to mention, Sheridan's-"

"I repeat, you're being ridiculous, Gwen!" Theresa snapped. "After your divorce is final, Ethan and I will be married. He is going to be getting Jenny weekends, holidays and summers, so get used to it! You can't expect one of us to move into a hotel every time your precious daughter comes to visit. I'm going to be Jenny's stepmother, so she might as well get comfortable with me right now!"

"Jenny can get used to being stashed in the Crane House Nursery with Jane and Little Ethan after that day actually happens," Gwen sneered. "In the meantime, she will get a mother's attention."

"Just what are you implying?!" Theresa bristled at this.

"Exactly what you are inferring," Gwen sneered. "Thanks to your illegal freezing of my monies in the Crane Banks, one of the economies I had to make was no nannies, so I got used to being a very hands-on mother. I repeat. I will not be leaving my daughter alone in this house."

Here, Sheridan saw her chance.

"But why stay at the Harmony Hilton?" Sheridan wondered aloud. "There's plenty of room at Crane House and I need my best friend close to me at a time like this!"

Gwen's angry expression softened at this.

"I really appreciate that, Sheridan," Gwen said. "But I can't see where there's room for me if Chris' relatives have come."

"They're not coming to Harmony for Chris' funeral," Sheridan told them. "They can't cut through the red tape in South Africa quick enough to arrive in time for the funeral so they are going to hold a memorial service for him in Johannesburg."

"Oh," Gwen said, digesting this. "I'm so sorry to hear that."

"So am I," Sheridan said. "So, you see, other than the Cranes, you will be the only one there to support me and Chris."

Sheridan turned to Julian.

"What is Rebecca going to say when she comes back and finds out that Gwen had to stay in a hotel rather than her mother's on home?" Sheridan asked Julian.

"I don't even want to imagine," Julian drawled, shuddering and rolling his eyes dramatically.

"But this is my home," Theresa protested.

"And I don't want to stay anywhere I'm not welcome," Gwen added. "Ethan, I've booked Room 1211. Give me a call when you're ready to come over and visit Jenny. We can have breakfast tomorrow morning, if you wish."

Gwen gathered her purse and made to leave, but Ethan grabbed her arm.

"Gwen," Ethan said. "Please stay put for a few minutes. I need to talk to Theresa alone."

Gwen nodded frostily and made polite conversation with Ivy and Sam who fussed over Jenny.

Ethan took Theresa by the waist and propelled her out of the room towards a private study.

Once they were inside, Theresa turned and faced Ethan defiantly.

"If you are going to ask me to invite Gwen to stay at Crane House, don't waste your time, because it's not going to happen." Theresa informed him.

"Theresa, please," Ethan pleaded. "I want Jenny to stay here at Crane House and get close to Little Ethan and particularly, Jane. They really got along well the last time they were together. I want the sisters to be close. I want us to have children who are loving siblings, like your family, not like the one I grew up in where we were little more than competitors. We're going to be a blended family. The sooner we can do it, the easier it will be once we get married and make it legal."

"Ethan," Theresa pointed out. "Gwen made it perfectly clear that she will never, ever accept me as Jenny's stepmother, much less as your wife! She hates me because you love me more than you do her. She still wants you back!"

"Gwen was the one who left our marriage, not me!" Ethan reminded her. "But that's unimportant. I want to be more than some visitor in Boston or a Harmony Hotel to Jenny. I need a close relationship with my daughter by Gwen. I should not have to divorce Jenny to divorce Gwen."

"I'm not keeping Jenny away, Gwen is!" Theresa protested.

"If you would be honest with yourself, you would admit that she has valid reasons," Ethan asserted. "We can't dismiss her objections to Jenny staying alone with us. Like it or not, we were both involved when she lost Sarah and Nathan."

"I'm so sick of hearing about that!" Theresa exploded. "What you are ignoring was that Gwen herself was very much involved, too! She's not an innocent victim in all this!"

"The point is, she lost two children," Ethan explained patiently. "Gwen thought she would never be a mother to her own biological child after she lost them. Jenny is a surprise miracle. No wonder Gwen feels super protective. We need to prove to her that Jenny is safe with us."

"All right, Ethan," Theresa conceded with a resigned sigh. "I'll invite the bitch to stay at Crane House so she can be close to her daughter and I will mind my p's and q's and walk on eggshells until she finally hops on her broom and flies back to Boston."

"Thank you, honey." Ethan breathed gratefully, taking Theresa into his arms.

They entered the living room and with barely concealed ill-grace, Theresa extended Gwen the invitation to stay at Crane House as well as Jenny. Everyone in the room exhaled slightly when Gwen frostily accepted. Ethan got Pilar to bring down the rest of the children to break the tension. Both Jane and Jenny's little faces brightened at the sight of each other and they ran to each other. It was obvious that they still remembered each other from Birmingham and Boston. Ethan gathered them into his lap and talked to his daughters as they cuddled their stuffed toys and chatted back to him. They were joined by Fancy and Luis who also entertained the sisters. Gwen and Theresa retreated into their corners with their respective best friends, Sheridan and Whitney, studiously avoiding each other for the rest of the evening.


	23. Matchmakers

"What are you thinking, Sam?" Ivy asked as he smiled thoughtfully at their granddaughters as they played.

"Oh, I'm thinking how beautiful the girls are," Sam answered. "They are as different as day and night, but you can definitely tell they're sisters."

"They're perfect foils for each other," Ivy remarked. "They definitely got the best of their father and their mothers, too!"

"I'm happy that they love each other so very much," Sam enthused. "They're getting along like a house on fire!"

"Yes, they are," Ivy agreed skeptically. "Right now they're too little to know what's going on. But how long do you think they will get along when they are old enough to understand how much their mothers hate each other?"

Reluctantly, Sam let his eyes wander from the warm, playful atmosphere surrounding the little half-sisters to slide over to the tense, turbulent periphery, across which both their respective mothers were warily watching over them when they weren't staring coldly at each other.

Sam saw a slight commotion by the front door as Pilar opened it to the handsome man standing on the doorstep. He noticed his younger brother Hank's arrival with gratitude. With his cheerful wise-cracking nature, Hank always managed to loosen things up.

Hank's dark hazel eyes lit up with affection when he saw Jane and Jenny playing together in the living room. With a big warm smile, he quickly strode over to them, squatting back on his haunches to hug his little nieces who both ran into his arms. It was obvious the little girls adored their great uncle.

"Well, well," Fancy smiled as the little half-sisters clung to him, "It looks like you have quite the little fan club."

"And a beautiful little fan club at that," Hank grinned back appreciatively, relieved at how Fancy seemed to have come out of her shell since her ordeal. "With the two of them being so close in age, Ethan is going to have his hands full trying to run off any little punks trying to rustle his daughters. By the looks of them, they're going to both be drop-dead gorgeous, too. He's going to need a lot of backup from their Uncle Hank."

"Oh, he'll definitely get a lot of backup," Luis said grimly. "From their Uncle Luis!"

"Then, there's Uncle Fox," Fancy reminded them both playfully.

"I forgot about him, as well as Noah," Hank said ruefully. "Yes, Ethan will have lots of backup. But first, let's see if we can make less work for ourselves."

Hank sat back pulling both girls on his knees.

"Now repeat after me, girls," Hank said authoritatively. "Boys … Are … NASTY!"

Both little girls looked at their great uncle blankly.

"I don't think they get it," Fancy giggled.

"I'll try again," Hank said grimly, looking at his little nieces. "You hate boys? Say, 'Yes, I hate boys, Uncle Hank.'"

Both girls still stared at him blankly.

"Oh, hell," Hank muttered. "Just nod your heads. Do you hate boys?"

Hank nodded his head and was startled to see the little girls both grin and shake their heads.

Then he noticed Fancy had caught their eyes and was shaking her head and they were mimicking her, not him.

"You little hussies," Hank said sternly. "Shame on you!"

Fancy and both the little girls all laughed at him.

Everyone in the room watching his desperate programming antics with his stubborn nieces laughed at him.

Gwen was as entertained by the scene as everyone else. Accidentally, she looked across the room and smiled at Theresa who smiled back broadly in amusement over this uncle-niece bonding both their daughters were sharing. Mutually confused, they both cut their laughter short, stopped smiling at each other and quickly looked away.

"They sure look good together," Sheridan commented.

"Yes," Gwen agreed reluctantly. "Jane and Jenny are perfect foils for each other."

"I wasn't talking about the girls," Sheridan corrected her misassumption. "I was talking about Fancy and Hank. They make a handsome couple. There are definite sparks there."

"Fancy and Hank?" Gwen echoed dubiously, not wanting to remind Sheridan that Fancy was with Luis, so her point was moot. "I think he likes her all right, but he always had a thing for you."

"Oh, I don't know about that," a glowing Sheridan said modestly, but smiled in spite of herself. "I thought he was sweet on you for a time, there."

"Me?!" Gwen exclaimed. "Come on, Sheridan, you know Hank only went after me, because he couldn't have you! You were his first choice, not me!"

"I was in love with Luis," Sheridan replied, preening a little. "There was no chance for us then."

"Well, maybe there's a chance … now?" Gwen suggested hesitantly as Sheridan looked at her in shock.

"Absolutely not," Sheridan said firmly, visibly recoiling as if in distaste at the very notion.

"Look," Gwen said apologetically. "I know this is awkward … no, ghastly … timing on my part. I mean, you haven't even buried Chris, yet! But sooner or later, it will be time to move on, Sheridan. Who better than a handsome man who had it so bad for you once? There was a time you were attracted to Hank, too, weren't you?"

"I was," Sheridan conceded. "But-"

Here, Sheridan hesitated slightly, then she lowered her voice making Gwen lean in to hear her. "If I'm going to move on with anybody it's going to be with Luis."

"But Luis is--" Gwen started to protest, but Sheridan interrupted her.

"With Fancy," Sheridan finished for her. "I know. For the moment! But, the morning that Chris was found dead, I had a dream. Luis and I had gotten back together, Gwen! We were in my bungalow. He was holding Katie in his arms and, and James and Marty were playing in the living room and the kids were all calling him Daddy."

"Where was Chris?"

"I don't know. He was just ... gone. When I woke up, I found out he was dead!"

"But, Marty is … gone, too," Gwen reminded Sheridan gently. "It was probably just a dream."

"No, it can't be!" Sheridan said stubbornly, shaking her head. "My dream was trying to tell me something. It must mean that Luis and I are destined to get back together again!"

Gwen stared at Sheridan in silence, thinking how much she sounded just like Theresa where Ethan and Fate were concerned.

"It makes no sense that I gave up Luis only to lose Chris, too!" Sheridan continued feverishly.

"Life hardly ever makes sense," Gwen warned her, but Sheridan just stared at her with defiant stubbornness written on every aspect of her face.

Gwen nodded politely at Noah and Paloma, who had just come in came over to the side buffet to help themselves to some drinks.

"Have you thought about making a change?" Gwen asked Sheridan, deftly trying to steer the subject away from the cliff it was heading over.

"What kind of change?" Sheridan demanded.

"Oh, a change of scenery," Gwen suggested. "I know you don't want to take James out of school in the middle of the year, but why don't you take James and Katie and move to Boston this summer? We have quite a number of school friends living there. It's a wonderful old place with lots of nice restaurants and a good night life. We could be swinging single moms together!"

Gwen felt a little deflated when Sheridan looked at her in annoyance.

"If anyone needs to move on, it's you, Gwen," Sheridan remarked, in order to change the subject.

"That's what I'm trying to do, Sheridan." Gwen said defensively.

"Oh?" Sheridan asked triumphantly. "Who are you seeing these days?"

"Come on now," Gwen exclaimed. "I don't need a man to move on. I'm raising my family in Boston. I've gotten closer to my father and I'm renewing old ties with some friends I've lost track of. Besides, I'm not even divorced from Ethan yet. I'd like to see about getting rid of one man before I take up with the next!"

"It doesn't even sound as if you're looking," Sheridan commented, looking at Gwen with something akin to pity.

"I'm not," Gwen stated. "I'm perfectly happy alone."

"No one is perfectly happy alone," Sheridan retorted. "That's why maybe you should take another look at Hank."

"Hank and me?" Gwen exclaimed dubiously. "He lives in Harmony and I live in Boston, now, Sheridan. Even if it wasn't a case of me not being his first choice back in the day, it makes no sense that he would want a long-distance relationship with me when there are so many attractive women in Harmony he could date. Women he might prefer. Like you."

"You could move back to Harmony," Sheridan pressed, ignoring Gwen's last subtle dig.

"Why would I want to do that?" Gwen asked incredulously.

"Once your divorce is final, Ethan is going to be having a lot of formal, unsupervised visitations with Jenny," Sheridan noted.

"I know. Believe me, I know. Is it really necessary to remind me?" Gwen demanded.

"I think it is," Sheridan said. "Can you honestly tell me you'll feel comfortable staying in Boston and just allowing Jenny to come to Harmony, releasing her to Theresa's tender, loving care for several days or weeks at a time?"

"Oh, hell, no!" Gwen snapped.

Noah grimaced at an alarmed looking Paloma dramatically. They then quickly left the side buffet to head across the room to join Theresa, Chad and Whitney.

"Then you'll only have to move back to Harmony anyway, so you'll be just minutes away if she needs you," Sheridan pointed out.

"Okay," Gwen conceded. "Even if I had to do the unthinkable and move back to Harmony. How can you suggest that I move on with Hank? He's Ethan's uncle, for God's sake. Not to mention he bears a strong resemblance to him. I'm trying to forget Ethan."

"He does?" Sheridan asked curiously. "I've never noticed. They seem as different as day and night."

"Oh, their coloring is different and their personalities are definitely different," Gwen rejoined. "But you can tell they're related. If I took up with Hank, I wouldn't be moving on from Ethan; I'd be moving over and I have absolutely no intention of going there!"

"Kind of like Luis did," Sheridan mused. "He moved over from me to Fancy."

"Kind of like that," Gwen admitted reluctantly. "But unlike Luis, I intend to avoid that kind of movement. I just can't do it. If I take up with anybody in Harmony, they've got to be someone completely unrelated to Ethan and totally different, in every way."

"It's just as well then," Sheridan shrugged. "I think Hank and Fancy would make a great couple, anyway."

"Well, he's definitely proved in the past that he has a thing for blonde Crane women," Gwen agreed, sighing inwardly.

Suddenly, Gwen's cell phone rang. When she answered it, it was Jonathan on the phone.

"The nanny tells me that Jon-Louis is having problems settling down," her father informed Gwen. "She thought hearing your voice might soothe him."

"I'd love to talk to him," Gwen told Jonathan warmly. She heard her son whimpering in the background and then breathe into the phone as his grandfather obviously held it up to the ear.

"Hi, there," Gwen murmured sweetly as Sheridan listened with interest. Jon-Louis obviously recognized Gwen's voice as his breathing quickened. "Are you having fun without me? Do you miss me? I miss you a lot! I love you oh so very much!"

Jonathan got back on and told Gwen that her voice did the trick. She told him goodnight and then hung up.

"You've been holding out on me!" Sheridan accused.

"What?!" Gwen muttered blankly.

"You have a new man in your life and you didn't tell me!" Sheridan remarked. "Why not?"

Gwen thought quickly. She wanted to tell her best friend about Jon-Louis, but something held her back.

"Superstition, I guess. Our … relationship … is very new," Gwen explained carefully. "I don't want to jinx it."

"It sounds like you care for him a lot," Sheridan commented. "As much as you care for Ethan?"

"Oh, I care for him much more than I ever did for Ethan," Gwen answered truthfully.

"I'm so happy for you, Gwen," Sheridan claimed with a smile that did not quite reach her beautiful blue eyes. Her own mind was racing. If Gwen has a new man in Boston, Sheridan thought, there is no way in hell she will move back to Harmony to fight Theresa for Ethan! Which means that little bitch will be running interference between me and Luis!

"In any case, I'd prefer that you don't say anything to anyone," Gwen continued. "I don't miss having my relationships as fodder for gossip magazines and tabloids like when I was with Ethan. I like having a private life. I'd like to keep it that way."

"Not even Ethan?" Sheridan suggested.

"Why bother?" Gwen asked.

"I'm sure he'd like to know," Sheridan answered. "You two are still married and you were together for years."

"Why?" Gwen enquired. "Are you suggesting I pull a 'Theresa?'"

"A 'Theresa?'" Sheridan echoed curiously.

"Make a last ditch effort to make him jealous and come running back to me," Gwen elaborated shortly. "Even though he has a daughter by another woman! Yes, that would be Theresa all over again! Sheridan, Ethan won't give a damn, even assuming he ever did. He'd probably be relieved that he is finally off the hook where I'm concerned. Ethan is going to marry … her … and be a family with … her … and Little Ethan and Jane as soon as our divorce is final. I've accepted that and I'm as fine with it as I'll ever be."

"Are you sure Ethan won't be jealous?" Sheridan probed.

"I don't give a damn if he is," Gwen retorted shortly. "But I would prefer if he just didn't know just in case so I'll be left alone. Sheridan, I'm so tired of this ride. I want off! That's why I filed for divorce and moved to Boston."

"All right," Sheridan smiled reassuringly.

"Aunt Gwen," Little Ethan's voice startled Gwen. "You're leaking!"

Little Ethan was staring at Gwen's breasts with innocent curiosity.

Gwen looked down at her blouse and saw a stain growing. Damn! She was leaking milk.

"Oh my God!" Gwen laughed nervously. "I'm such a slob! I knew I dribbled my drink over my chin. I didn't realize I sloshed myself. Thanks, Honey." She quickly grabbed a napkin and dabbed at herself. "I need to go upstairs and change."

Without another word, Gwen dashed up to her room as Sheridan watched her head upstairs and turned back to look across the room. A very displeased looking Theresa was talking to Paloma intently and glaring at Gwen's retreating back. She did not appear happy with what her sister was telling her. Sheridan was curious about what Paloma told Theresa about Gwen that had her reacting so oddly.

Suddenly, Sheridan was distracted by the sound of Luis and Fancy laughing together. She watched as Fancy settled back against Luis as he wrapped his long, muscular arm around her and inwardly winced. She sensed someone watching her closely. Involuntarily she looked across the room and stared into Theresa's shrewdly assessing black orbs.

Sheridan thoughtfully looked up the stairs as Gwen reached the top of the landing and head down the hall towards her assigned room. It was really amazing Gwen's effect on Theresa, she reflected. When Gwen was around, Theresa couldn't pay attention to anything or anyone else. Now that she was out of sight, Theresa could go back to watching Sheridan like a hawk and start meddling into matters that were none of her business.

_"But I'm Fancy's friend, so that makes it my business. I'm putting you on notice that I have her back, Sheridan, so forget any ideas that may come up about breaking her and Luis up."_ The memory of Theresa's voice echoed in Sheridan's head.

_"Sheridan, I'm so tired of this ride. I want off! That's why I filed for divorce and moved to Boston."_ The memory of Gwen's voice also lingered with her.

Sheridan felt pangs of guilt. She had to confess her own reaction to Luis and Fancy shocked and confused her. What was it about Fancy that made her so crazed? She didn't understand it. All she knew is that Luis couldn't have found a more effective way to hurt her if he tried to. She had never been this upset when Luis was with Beth and she hadn't had children tying her to Antonio like she had with Chris.

Yes, she told herself, but remember how things with Beth ended!

Sheridan couldn't visualize herself being brave and moving to Boston and joining Gwen in putting on a serene, cheerful, positive swinging single mommy front while the love of her life moved on with Fancy, of all people.

Sheridan found herself hoping that Gwen hadn't gotten too serious with the new man in Boston, because even though she didn't know it yet, she was moving to Harmony to run interference with that meddling little tramp. Besides, she was doing Gwen a favor. It was only a matter of time before Ethan saw Theresa for the scheming slut she was. She was not only helping herself, she was helping Gwen get the love of her life back.

In the meantime, Sheridan had to throw Theresa off the scent.

Smiling sweetly, she walked over to the middle of the room and joined Luis, Fancy and Hank. Making polite conversation with the man she loved and her treacherous niece, Sheridan focused all her warmth and charm on a slightly dazzled Hank, making him the object of the majority of her attention. Discreetly, she checked Theresa's reaction out and was puzzled to see her look troubled. For whatever reason, the little bitch didn't want Sheridan to move onto Hank, either! Sheridan couldn't figure out why.


	24. A Shaky Detente

Theresa watched Gwen hurry up the stairs curiously. Catching the eye of the server who had just handed Sheridan and Gwen their drinks shortly before she left, she beckoned him over to her.

"Yes, Mrs. Crane?" The server asked respectfully.

"Why is Mrs. Winthrop leaving the party so quickly?" Theresa asked.

"Your son noticed that Mrs. Winthrop had a stain on her blouse. She said she dribbled some of her drink on herself and went upstairs to change," the server informed her.

"Thank you," Theresa dismissed him with a curt nod and he quickly went away.

"Why were you so curious about Gwen?" Whitney asked. "She's here to support Sheridan and that's pretty much what she's been doing. She isn't hanging all over Ethan."

"She isn't hanging all over Ethan … yet," Theresa amended Whitney's statement.

"Really, Theresa, there's nothing to be worried about," Whitney reassured her. "Gwen will be going back to Boston as soon as the weekend is over. You won't have to deal with her again anytime soon, if at all, when Gwen and Ethan's divorce is final. She'll be living in Boston."

"I don't know about that," Noah commented, exchanging knowing glances with Paloma as they walked up on Whitney and Theresa.

"What do you mean by that?" Theresa demanded.

"Sheridan is trying to talk Gwen into moving back to Harmony," Paloma warned.

"What?!" Theresa gasped. "Is Sheridan serious?!"

"Serious enough to try to fix Gwen up with Hank," Paloma elaborated.

"Well, Hank definitely is Gwen's type," Whitney speculated, considering the idea. "We know that Gwen has been crazy about Ethan for years and he does look a lot like him … aside from coloring and a few minor differences."

"Dad told me that, after Ethan dumped Gwen, Hank tried to date her, but she just wasn't interested," Noah reassured Theresa. "That was long before she found out Hank was Ethan's uncle. I can't imagine she'd be interested now."

"I hope and pray not!" Theresa exclaimed devoutly, surprising herself by how anxious she felt over this news. The thought of Hank with Gwen made her feel nauseous. "Hank deserves better than to hook up with that-that snobby bitch!"

"Relax, Theresa," Paloma said. "Gwen reminded Sheridan that she was not Hank's first choice; Sheridan was. I think Gwen is trying to fix Sheridan up with Hank!"

Theresa knew she should feel relieved, but this didn't make her feel any better.

"What was Sheridan's reaction?" Theresa enquired, putting on a show of mild curiosity.

"Well, she was obviously taken aback and put off," Noah interjected. "Chris has only been dead a few days and she hasn't even buried him yet. It's too soon for Sheridan to even think of being with anyone else right now. So she definitely wasn't happy with the idea…"

Noah let his voice trail off, like there was something else he was about to say.

"What is it, Noah?" Theresa asked.

"Gwen said she was happy living in Boston," Noah explained. "But Sheridan reminded her that you and Ethan would be getting unsupervised visitation of Jenny once the divorce was final. Gwen agreed that she would never feel comfortable about staying behind in Boston while Jenny was in Harmony."

"No kidding!" Theresa said sarcastically. "I'm surprised she left Jenny in the same room as me rather than taking her precious daughter upstairs with her when she changed!"

"Well, that's probably going to be what makes Gwen move back to Harmony," Paloma speculated. "The fact that she'd have to leave Boston to come and stay with her on a regular basis. That would be disrupting any chance of leading her own life up there if she has to drop everything she's doing every week to come down here."

"I know," Theresa sighed in irritation. "Gwen's return to Harmony is inevitable."

"It doesn't have to be," Whitney said. "Not necessarily."

"What do you mean?" Theresa asked hopefully.

"Gwen wouldn't have to return to Harmony -at all - if she could be convinced that you mean Jenny no harm," Whitney pointed out.

"Whitney, I once thought of Jenny as my own," an exasperated Theresa pointed out. "Why the hell would she think I mean Jenny any harm?"

"Oh, I don't know," Whitney said carefully, "Sarah and Nathan come to mind."

"I will never hear the end of that, will I?" Theresa snapped.

"Probably not," Whitney admitted. "You have to make peace with her, Theresa."

"How do you suggest I do that?" Theresa demanded. "By groveling to her over Sarah and Nathan? You know damned well that Sarah died because she went against doctor's orders to get out of bed and pick a fight with me. If she hadn't stolen Little Ethan from me, I would have never had to go after Nathan-"

"I know all that, Theresa," Whitney sighed, raising her eyebrows.

"Do you?" Theresa asked pointedly. "Do you understand that Gwen attacked me in Los Angeles? She had me in a choke hold on my throat and would have snapped my neck if I hadn't pushed her off me! And I never intended Nathan to die. I would have tried to carry him to term, too, if Gwen hadn't twisted my arm off until I agreed to reduce the pregnancy."

"Yes, I know," Whitney said.

"Gwen pulled her fair share of stunts on me," Theresa reminded her bitterly. "We both know she framed me for exposing Ethan's true paternity to stop me from marrying him. She deliberately got pregnant with Sarah to keep us from getting back together! She took Little Ethan from me and went after who she thought was Jane and took her from me, too!"

"Yes, but-"

"But what, Whitney?" Theresa demanded. "Are you seriously suggesting that I have to apologize to that selfish, scheming bitch?"

"No, I'm not!" Whitney said firmly. "When I said you should make peace with Theresa, I only meant that there is no way you are ever going to make Gwen feel easy with the idea of leaving Jenny alone in your care if you go out of your way to make her feel uncomfortable and unwelcome around you by glaring at her the whole visit!"

"Well, in case you haven't noticed," Theresa pointed out petulantly. "Gwen was glaring at me, too!"

"You do care for Jenny, don't you?" Whitney asked, deciding to change her tact.

"Of course I do!" Theresa exclaimed in surprise. "I've said so…repeatedly."

"That's good, because we both know you love Jane," Whitney continued. "Look at her, Theresa. Look at how much Jane loves Jenny and Jenny loves Jane. The sisters love each other."

Theresa glanced at the two little girls giggling together as Hank teased them.

"They sure do," Theresa smiled with a little sigh.

"Then act like Jane's mother and approach Gwen on common ground," Whitney suggested. "This doesn't always have to be about Ethan. You already won that war, remember? It's time to move on. Think about it, Theresa. Gwen is the mother of your daughter's sister! The sister who your daughter loves very much, by the way. This should be about making her happy."

Theresa mulled over Whitney's words. This was a lot to digest.

"You still care for Jenny, don't you?" Whitney probed. "Finding out she was actually Gwen's all along hasn't changed anything, has it?"

"Of course not!" Theresa retorted. "It's just that-"

"Just what?"

"Heather Hooper told me that Gwen can't stand Jane," Theresa said. "Gwen was strongly tempted to keep Jane in revenge for Nathan's death."

"You told me that Heather was a lying con artist," Whitney reminded her.

"Yes, but she showed me some pictures and pictures don't lie," Theresa said.

"Pictures of what? Gwen beating Jane?" Whitney asked.

"No!" Theresa said shortly. "She had Heather snap a picture of Jane with her and she looked so hateful in that picture and Jane looked so…scared."

"Yes, but Gwen returned Jane," Whitney pointed out.

"Yes," Theresa conceded. "I don't know why but she did. I guess she likes Luis more than she hates me."

"And Luis likes Gwen," Whitney said. "They're close friends. Gwen can't be that evil if Luis thinks so highly of her."

"I guess so," Theresa said dubiously.

"Well, think about what I suggested," Whitney urged. "It's not like you have to worry about Gwen being in control of Jane any length of time. There's no chance of that happening, anyway, because there's no reason for it. Your daughter won't be spending long periods under Gwen's roof to satisfy court-ordered visitation The same can't be said of Gwen where you're concerned. That's why you have to reassure Gwen that Jenny will be treated like a loved and welcome member of your family. Once you convince her of that, she'll stay in Boston … out of your lives, don't you see?"

Theresa did see. What Whitney said made a great deal of sense. She only had to figure out how to proceed.

She was startled out of her reverie by Noah's voice.

"Well, well," Noah commented. "It looks like Sheridan changed her mind and is going to take Gwen's advice and give Hank a shot with her this time."

Alarmed, Theresa looked to where Sheridan had joined the others. She was obviously turning on all her charm and attention on a slightly dazzled looking Hank who was responding chivalrously. Theresa frowned. She did not like this. Not at all. Not one little bit. She didn't know why she felt that way; she just did.

She watched anxiously for several more minutes until Luis looked up across the room at the stairwell and smiled, then excused himself and made his way towards Gwen as she walked down the stairs.

"I couldn't ask you when you first arrived," Luis said in a low aside. "But how is my little namesake? How is your little guy?"

"Oh," Gwen said, smiling radiantly. "Jon-Luis is thriving. I don't have it on me at the moment, but I brought a recent wallet sized photo for you to keep. I'll give it to you later."

"Thanks," Luis grinned. "Because you know you would have never heard the end of it from me if you didn't have any recent pictures for me."

"He's raising his head now and rolling over," Gwen said proudly. "The doctor said he's right on course with his normal development which is pretty amazing since I had no prenatal care whatsoever. He's my little miracle."

"He certainly is!" Luis said warmly. "Jenny is even prettier than I remembered. She and Jane make quite the team, don't they? You heard Hank … he's threatening to have them tailed by the police wherever they go to 'keep the little punks at bay' when they're older."

"Not the prejudiced uncle, is he?" Gwen snarked.

"Nope," Luis quipped, with a mischievous twinkle in his dark eyes. "Not at all! Not anymore than I am!"

Gwen and Luis laughed at this.

"Well, it sure looks like Boston agrees with you," Luis said, looking at Gwen appreciatively.

Gwen glowed at this compliment.

Across the room, Theresa, watched this exchange between Gwen and Luis with interest. Gwen looked so relaxed and happy that now seemed the perfect time to approach her. Besides, with Luis there to witness it, Gwen could hardly be rude to her, could she?

"I love Boston," a greatly encouraged Theresa heard Gwen tell Luis as she walked up on them. "It's taking a while for me to find my bearings but I think I found the perfect pre-school for Jenny. It looks like a lot of the children from my neighborhood go there, so she should make many friends-"

Gwen stopped short as Theresa walked up on them.

"Hello, Gwen," Theresa said with a charming smile on her face.

"Uh, hello, Theresa," a startled Gwen said nervously, feeling rather disarmed by Theresa's amicable manner.

"Hank told me all you did for Jane when you found her," Theresa explained without preamble, "And I wanted to take this chance to thank you for feeding her, cleaning her up and buying her that stuffed Dalmatian puppy. I've bought her other toys since she came home to me, but it's still her favorite."

"It is?" Gwen asked, touched in spite of herself. "Luis helped me pick it. Jane was quite smitten with Jenny's Simba, so we went out to the store and picked the puppy out by its eyes. That's how I settled on Jenny's stuffed lion. He had the kindest, most loving expression in the eyes, so when I saw that in the Dalmatian, I thought Jane would like him a lot."

"Oh, she loves that puppy," Theresa said enthusiastically, feeling moved by Gwen's words. "She not only sleeps with him, she takes him wherever he goes. Jane is just like Jenny with Simba!"

"What has she named him?" Gwen asked curiously.

"Buddy," Theresa answered. "Hank kept calling him her little buddy and that's what Jane started calling him."

"I'm glad she's got something that makes her happy," Gwen commented. "I don't think she was in a very happy place before now."

"What do you mean by that?" Theresa asked sharply.

Gwen sighed reluctantly, but decided to do her duty by Jane where Theresa was concerned. She could see that things with Jane appeared idyllic now, but she remembered reading articles about the "honeymoon" period with newly placed adoptive children. Implying the calm before the storm. Theresa had to know what she was dealing with so she could decide on the best course of action for Jane.

Theresa's face fell as Gwen grimly described the car Heather was driving and the house she was living in. And hardened when Gwen told her about how frightened Jane got when the top of her sippy cup came off and the liquid contents spilled over the table, relating the little girl's frantic efforts to wipe it up. She further mentioned how filled with dread the child appeared to be when it looked like Heather was there to retrieve her.

"That bitch!" Theresa gritted out through clenched teeth. "You wouldn't believe how she played me. She acted like she was mother of the year … no, she said she told Jane she wasn't her real mommy … she acted like she was Super Nanny!"

"That doesn't surprise me," Gwen said. "She's quite a piece of work, that one. Can you blame me for giving her whatever it took to pay her off to keep away from Jenny? I wouldn't want something like that in charge of my daughter."

"Like she was with mine," Theresa said bitterly.

"I know," Gwen answered sympathetically.

"Well, I think we need to change the subject to more pleasant topics," Theresa said abruptly, biting her lip. "I heard you talking about your life in Boston with Luis when I came over to talk to you. How do you like living there?"

"I love it," Gwen raved. "I found this perfect townhouse on a large cul-de-sac that has a large family park in the middle of it. It's in an older neighborhood, but a nice one, not too far from my father's residence and there are a lot of my old school friends living in the area."

"That sounds ideal," Theresa enthused. "Does that mean you plan to work with your father in his company?"

It also sounded ideal for Theresa, too. She was beginning to feel very relieved. The more Gwen talked about her new life in Boston, the more it sounded to Theresa like Gwen had no real interest in moving back to Harmony … if she felt Jenny could be safe there.

"That's what I'd like to do," Gwen said, "But only in a part-time capacity while Jenny is in pre-school. I want to be home with her in the afternoons and on weekends when she isn't away."

"That's an excellent idea," Luis cheered. He would have been forever grateful if he thought that Gwen and Theresa could be civil to each other and not end up in a physical fight every time they were in the same room together. But now, miracle of miracles, they were actually holding an almost friendly conversation! It had always bothered him how two of the people he loved the most, his little sister and his best friend, couldn't get along. He was ecstatic.

"Well, I'm sorry I interrupted your conversation, so I'll leave you two to talk in peace while I attend to the rest of the guests," Theresa smiled, nodding politely as she walked away.

"Thank you for being so gracious to my sister," Luis said, once Theresa was out of earshot. "I know how hard it must have been for you, with the way you feel about Theresa, but I really appreciate it."

"Actually it was easy, because she was so gracious herself," Gwen admitted. "Ethan said Theresa had matured a lot since she got Jane back."

"Gratitude will do that for you," Luis agreed. "And though she will never come right and say so, Gwen, Theresa is grateful to you and knows she is forever in your debt for rescuing Jane from that horrible woman and her husband."

It made a certain amount of sense to Gwen even though she was aware that both Theresa and herself knew that rescuing Jane had happened due to the most selfish reasons on Gwen's part; her need to claim Jenny as her own.

She watched as Theresa made her way over to where Ethan was sitting with his daughters. Theresa handed both Jane and Jenny a cookie, bending down and stretching out her arms, she lovingly stroked both their cheeks before taking her place by Ethan.

For the first time since her visit, Gwen found she could exhale and relax. She smiled up at Luis and continued talking to him about how she planned to get a nanny to watch his namesake while she worked part-time with her father.

From her own vantage point, Theresa watched Gwen with Luis. When she had handed the girls a cookie and caressed them both, she had secretly gauged Gwen's reaction through the camouflage of her long, dark eyelashes. To her relief, Gwen had not come tearing over there to taste Jenny's cookie to make sure it wasn't poisoned or something.

Whitney was right. Theresa had to reassure Gwen that Jenny would be loved by her as much as she loved Little Ethan and Jane. She knew Gwen wouldn't believe her words, but hopefully she would believe her actions and back off of Theresa and Ethan.


	25. A Match Made In Heaven

Tabitha Lenox was in her kitchen, looking into her magic bowl. Endora was calmly having some cookies and milk at the table, watching her mother intently as she studied the goings on at Crane House with great interest.

"Oh, dear, Endora," Tabitha commented fretfully as she frowned in irritation. "It looks like Theresa and Gwen are getting chummy."

The Boys in the Basement howled their displeasure.

"What's wrong with that?" Endora's voice asked telepathically.

"Gwen and Theresa are two powerful entities that are best left in opposition to each other if the Dark Forces are to prevail," Tabitha answered. "They allowed their real daughters to be discovered because they thought that both girls would intensify Gwen and Theresa's rivalry over Ethan (and normally it would), but something has changed."

"What is it?" Endora enquired.

"It is Gwen's feelings for Ethan!" Tabitha gasped as she saw in her bowl that after seeing that Theresa treat Jenny no differently than Jane, Gwen was watching Theresa settle back onto the sofa in the crook of Ethan's arm without a trace of jealousy in her eyes. "She no longer is in love with him! How the hell did that happen?"

"Maybe Hell had nothing to do with it," Endora quipped cheerfully.

"You're absolutely right!" Tabitha retorted bitterly. "Hell didn't have a damned thing to do with it. In fact, Hell is very unhappy over this!" Tabitha continued jumping back from the bowl as it frothed a little angrily.

Tabitha watched moodily as what started out an intimate gathering of family and friends to get together and support Sheridan over the death of her husband had evolved into a low-key celebration over Jane and Jenny's recovery by their respective mothers. The two little girls were decidedly the center of attention and the whole room seemed to bask in the wonder and joy of their presence now that Gwen and Theresa were no longer at each other's throats.

Tabitha leaned back over the bowl to observe the family get together gradually break up with Sam and Ivy and Hank all heading to their respective homes as the hour got late.

Sheridan picked up Katie, Gwen and Theresa followed suit respectively with Jenny and Jane. All three headed up the stairs to the nursery with Pilar escorting James and Little Ethan.

Tabitha scowled and the Boys in the Basement howled some more as she watched the sweet tableau of Sheridan tucking Katie into her crib, Gwen tucking Jenny into a canopied double bed as Theresa tucked Jane into the other side. Both women leaned over and kissed their daughters as they lay there, wide-eyed, clutching their stuffed toys; Jenny clutching Simba and Jane clutching Buddy. As they straightened up, they met each other's gaze and overwhelmed by the mutual miracle that was Jenny and Jane, smiled tremulously with misty eyes at the notion that they both had their child restored to them.

Theresa and Sheridan then proceeded to tuck James and Little Ethan into their beds, kissing the goodnight. All three left the nursery. As each headed to their rooms Gwen and Theresa could actually bid each other a cordial goodnight.

"There's too much happiness, here!" Tabitha snarled as the Boys in the Basement continued to howl. "I wonder how the Dark Forces are going to resolve this?"

Tabitha peered into the bowl more intently.

"What's this?" She asked curiously as Luis walked up to Gwen's bedroom door and knocked discreetly. "Well, this is interesting," she said speculatively as Gwen's smiled warmly and opened the door.

"I thought now would be the perfect time for me to collect that picture you promised me," Luis said, smiling at Gwen warmly.

"I was wondering when I could get it to you," Gwen replied softly. "I'm glad you found this opportunity."

Gwen reached into the dresser drawer.

"Actually, I got you more than a wallet-sized photo of Jon-Louis. I got you one of Jenny, too. And then there's this for your apartment."

Luis' eyes widened and his strong face softened in pleasant surprise as Gwen pulled out an expensive, glossy, hinged item. She opened it to reveal a double-framed portrait picture of Jon-Louis and Jenny. She pulled up the back of Jenny's picture to show the inscription.

"To the best man in the world. That's you, Uncle Luis. Love, Jenny," Gwen read aloud.

She pulled up Jon's picture to show what she had inscribed on the back. Before she could read it aloud, Luis did.

"To my godfather, Uncle Luis. Thank you for helping Mommy bring me into the world. Love, your namesake, Jon-Louis," Luis read aloud. "Gwen, I'm touched!"

Gwen handed Luis two different wallet-sized photographs of Jon-Louis and Jenny without any inscriptions on the back and watched him as he placed them into some clear plastic sheets designed for that purpose.

"I'm glad you're happy," Gwen responded. "I hope I'm not assuming too much. I mean, I never asked you before this and you never agreed to be Jon-Louis' godfather."

"I'd be honored to!" Louis answered fervently.

"It will be a while," Gwen told him. "Until Ethan and Theresa are married and have a boy of their own, I'll have to put it off. In fact, I have to further delay Jenny's re-baptism, too."

"Jenny's re-baptism?" Luis asked curiously.

"I want her re-baptized now that we all know she is not Jane," Gwen said. "I imagine that Theresa will want to have her own daughter baptized. I don't think the Hoopers ever bothered."

"Come to think of that," Luis admitted. "Theresa did talk about setting up a baptism. She's talking about having Noah and Paloma stand in for Jane."

"Not Kay and Fox?" Gwen asked.

"No," Luis said quietly as if he read her thoughts in her eyes. "Theresa wanted both sides of the family represented and that would ordinarily mean Kay and Miguel, but she didn't think Fox would go for that, so it was best to leave them out of it altogether."

"Besides," Gwen said slowly, thinking of how Miguel was circling Fox and Kay's relationship much like Theresa had hers with Ethan, "We don't know how Kay and Fox are going to work out now that Miguel is back in the picture."

"No, we don't." Luis agreed reluctantly. "Hopefully it will work out best for all three parties involved."

"I hope so, too."

"So why are you putting off Jenny's re-baptism?" Luis asked curiously.

"I was going to ask Chris and Sheridan to be her godparents," Gwen explained. "But now that Chris is dead, I don't know who will be her godfather. I know!" Gwen exclaimed as the solution hit her. "Hank could be Jenny's godfather! He is Ethan's uncle on Sam's side, after all … and … for years, Ethan thought Sheridan was his aunt! That's it!"

"That's a great idea!" Luis enthused.

"I think so, too," Gwen admitted modestly, dimpling at him.

This way, Gwen thought, Sheridan will have to interact more with Hank. Maybe he'll get a chance with her now that Luis is involved with Fancy. Sheridan liked Hank in the past, maybe he can help her get over Chris and Luis. Gwen's matchmaking instincts were going into overdrive as she envisioned the possibilities.

"In a couple of years, after Ethan and Theresa marry and hopefully have a son of their own," Gwen said, interrupting her thoughts, "I can have Jon-Louis' baptism. You and Fancy will probably be married by then and you both can stand in as his godparents."

By then, Gwen thought, Sheridan and Hank should be together and I won't alienate my best friend!

"I can't speak for her, but I suspect Fancy will be delighted to be Jon-Louis' godmother," Luis said.

"I think so, too," Gwen responded. "At least I hope so."

"Well, I know it's getting late and we have a viewing and a Rosary Mass for Chris tomorrow," Luis smiled. "Not to mention a good, old-fashioned wake to see him off, so we have to say goodnight."

"That we do," Gwen agreed. "Good night, Luis."

"Good night, Gwen," Luis responded, giving her a warm hug as he kissed her on the cheek as Gwen involuntarily trembled with delight and desire. "Are you cold?" Luis asked solicitously.

"A little," Gwen lied shakily.

"Well, you better get under those covers then, pronto!"

"I will," Gwen promised, as she saw him to the door. Sighing, she leaned back against the portal watching him walk off, involuntarily telegraphing her love and longing for him for all to see … if there had been anyone else in the hallway.

"Aha!" Tabitha exclaimed. "So, that explains it!"

"Explains what?" Tabitha asked.

"Why Gwen is no longer in love with Ethan. She is head over heels in love with Luis!"

The Boys in the Basement howled their displeasure at this news.

"What's your problem?" Tabitha asked curiously. "Forget the Ethan Project. There is tons of Misery and Mayhem to mine out of this. Sheridan is Gwen's best friend and she still loves Luis. She's already lunging for Fancy's throat over Luis and Fancy is Gwen's friend, too! And the icing on the cake is he's Theresa's brother! Gwen and the rest of the Lopez-Fitzgeralds can't stand each other! Don't you see-"

The Boys in the Basement howled even louder at this.

"Ohhh," Tabitha said in comprehension.

"Gwen is Luis' true love," Endora said. "They are a match made in Heaven. Fancy and Sheridan are meant for other men."

More howling and growling ensued from the basement.

Endora frowned delicately as Tabitha listened intently.

"That is why another little girl must die!" Tabitha proclaimed morbidly, like the gloomiest of oracles.

"Is Theresa going to kill Jenny?" Endora asked.

"No," Tabitha intoned darkly. "That will not bring Gwen back to Ethan; that will push her further away! She'll never let him find out about that boy of hers!"

"Then, who is it?" Endora demanded. "It better not be Maria. We love Kay and Maria is my friend!"

"Gwen will kill Jane!" Tabitha predicted.

"Gwen is not capable of doing that!" Endora scoffed.

"Not on purpose, no," Tabitha explained. "It will be an accident, but Theresa will think it was deliberate, in revenge for Sarah and Nathan."

"Maria will be sad if Jane dies," Endora protested. "Jane can't die!"

"Jane must die, so Theresa blames Gwen for it," Tabitha said. "She cannot bring herself to give up the Crane Fortune by revealing that Little Ethan is his, so Jane's death will sever their connection again. Ethan is destined to find out about Jon-Louis. That will draw him closer to Gwen, which will make Theresa crazy. You know how Theresa gets when she goes crazy. She will start raising Cain … again! Most of all, this will strain Gwen's relationship with Luis. His family will go all out to force him to take sides and we know how loyal Luis is to the Lopez-Fitzgerald family! He will further be torn between Fancy and Sheridan and eventually end up with one of them. Either way, it will be the wrong woman! Gwen and Luis will never unite! There will be NO Match Made In Heaven!"

"Jane doesn't have to die to keep Gwen and Luis apart. Besides, I don't want Jane to die; I like Jane. I refuse to permit this."

"There is nothing you can do about it," Tabitha warned her wayward daughter. "The Boys in the Basement see no other way and the Dark Forces are already set in motion for the wake tomorrow. Jane will have a fatal accident and Theresa will blame Gwen for it."

"Not if I have anything to say about it!" Endora retorted.

"You don't."

"We'll see."

Tabitha shook her head in exasperation at her daughter's stubbornness.

"Very well," Tabitha sighed. "But you are spinning your wheels!"

"I am not."

"What do you have planned?"

"That would be telling."

The next day, Tabitha made her excuses to avoid the viewing of Chris Boothe in his casket and the Rosary Mass, claiming that Endora was ill. She was determined to leave her wayward daughter at home, because she was afraid of bringing the wrath of the Dark Forces down on Endora's head, if she interfered as she had threatened.

The day passed into dusk. Tabitha dressed herself for the Wake which was to be held at Crane House.

"Hello, Mother," Endora said cheerfully. "But it was not Endora's childish telepathic voice. It was the voice of a young woman in her twenties. Tabitha whirled around in shock.

"Endora," Tabitha scolded the beautiful blonde woman. "What are you doing still up? I put a sleeping potion in your milk."

"I know," Endora answered. "I gave it to Fluffy."

Tabitha heard Fluffy's loud snoring which sounded more like a low roaring.

"So, that's what that was." Tabitha remarked. "I thought it was the Boys still raising hell."

"I'm going to the Wake with you, Mother," Endora informed her.

"How am I going to explain a strange young woman crashing a Wake?" Tabitha protested.

"You will introduce me as your niece, Samantha. I just came into town and surprised you with a visit."

"Very well, but there is nothing you can do to stop the Dark Forces. Jane will die and Theresa will blame Gwen for her death."

"We'll see."

"Yes, we will."

Tabitha shook her head in exasperation again as they headed out the door together.


	26. The Portal

"So," Endora asked her mother, "How are the Dark Forces planning to kill Jane?"

"Endora, I know what is on your mind," Tabitha renonstrated. "You are thinking that if you know their plan, you can stop it, but you cannot!'

"Well, if I cannot stop them, anyway then nothing will change if you tell me," Endora said patiently.

"The Dark Forces historically find the human heart to be a perfect portal to effect their will through the baser side of human passions; pride, anger, grief, hatred, lust, fear, jealousy, greed, vengeance …" Tabitha lectured. "For example, they had the perfect set up when Harmony's prince, Ethan Crane jilted his princess, Gwyneth Hotchkiss for his family's lowly housekeeper's daughter, Theresa Lopez-Fitzgerald."

"The whole panoply of human passions at their worst was roiling inside the portal of Gwen's heart when she lost her fiancée to another woman and that one in particular! Wounded pride, hatred, anger, jealousy, grief, fear of abandonment , and vengeance were all wrapped up inside Gwen and it was that which made her sit on her hands and do nothing when her mother sent the truth about Ethan's paternity to that tabloid," Endora said, getting the picture.

"Of course, Theresa figured out what she did and started her endless schemes to win Ethan back by either exposing Gwen or wearing down his resistance through her unrelenting seduction stratagems, shifting into gear the Perpetual Motion Machine that is The Ethan Project," Tabitha finished triumphantly. "Each vengeful strike from Theresa met with a retaliatory counterstrike by Gwen, upping the ante and the stakes each time."

"So is that how they are planning to set Gwen up for Jane's death?" Endora persisted. "You've been monitoring that situation forever and you, of all people, should know how careful Gwen acts when she is around Theresa's daughter. You are also forgetting how protective Theresa has been since she has gotten Jane back from Heather Hooper. Moreover, Theresa has not made a move to jeopardize Jenny's safety."

"After grinning at each other through gritted teeth and snarling out pleasantries, they are both on their best behavior," Tabitha admitted. "Each mother is making a point of trying to outdo the other by treating the other's daughter like spun glass. The Boys in the Basement are wasting their time. Both women are determined to gut it out by being on their best behavior and making sure there is no unpleasantness so Gwen and Jenny can return to Boston without incident."

"Mother, you have just laid out the case why Gwen cannot be the portal the Dark Forces are looking for," Endora pointed out to Tabitha. "None of the violent, red-hot human passions are present now. Gwen has recovered her fortune as well as her dignity, she no longer loves Ethan, so there is no jealousy or grief regarding _him_. I guess that leaves Gwen's hatred for Theresa, but isn't that too strong an emotion for how she feels about her? I would say she coolly, even clinically despises Theresa for her past sins against herself, but it bears only a tepid resemblance to the deep, gut-level visceral loathing she felt in the past."

"Nevertheless, there _is_ a portal that the Dark Forces can enter to frame Gwen for Jane's death," Tabitha warned Endora.

**Earlier That Afternoon**

In spite of the sadness surrounding Chris Boothe's death, it was a beautiful New England fall in Harmony. The foliage had turned from a lush green to a brilliant rainbow of gold, orange and red leaves. The sky was a brilliant blue with white, fluffy clouds glowing luminously from the bright autumn sun which kept the cool air warm enough to be invigorating to anyone outside, but not too hot.

It took all of her persuasive powers, but Gwen finally managed to cajole a very depressed Sheridan into leaving the claustrophobia of Crane House and taking a turn around the park. The two women walked arm in arm in total silence, without saying much of anything at first. Sheridan and Gwen moved briskly along the trail of the park, which was filled with the joyful noise of families taking in the last days of good weather before the harsh New England winters set in a few weeks.

The two solitary women, one newly widowed and the other in the throes of divorce made desultory small talk as they wistfully watched the husbands, the wives and their children setting up cookouts near the picnic tables. Gwen heard the sound of a couple walking behind them on the path and looked behind her, momentarily alarmed, because the man was tall, dark, handsome and athletic and the woman was a tall, young willowy blonde. She heaved an almost audible sigh of relief at finding that she did not recognize this couple and tried to distract Sheridan.

But a slight frown marred Sheridan's lovely brow and she involuntarily winced at the sight of them.

"I guess I wasn't the only person in Harmony who decided to take advantage of this beautiful day," Gwen said a tad too cheerfully. "This park is absolutely crowded, isn't it?"

"Yes," Sheridan sighed despondently, indicating them with her elegant hand. "It's filled with couples; married and single, young and old. This place was made for families; established families, potential families. Then there is you and I, Gwen. The forgotten women; widowed and abandoned."

"Not for long," Gwen protested, trying to sound optimistic. "We are both reasonably young and attractive. There is always a chance that in a year or so, you and I will be enjoying this park along with the other families here with our children and wonderful new men at our sides."

"Do you really believe that?"

"Why not," Gwen asked. "This time last year, my situation was pretty hopeless. I was trapped in a miserable living situation. I was bankrupt and I was barren, with no baby to call my own. I was isolated in a town where I was an object of pity and derision, because everyone not only knew that I was stuck, raising my husband's 'love child' with another woman while she chased after him, but were also her allies and accomplices or spectators to a sordid sideshow, sitting on their hands and watching as she destroyed my marriage."

"Oh, Gwen," Sheridan sighed regretfully. "I should have been more supportive. I guess I didn't understand back then what you were going through even though I was aware of what was going on. I'm sorry."

"That's all right. You tried your best, caught as you were between me and the Lopez-Fitzgeralds. They were your in-laws."

"I like to think of myself as a sensitive person," Sheridan apologized. "But, like I said, I just didn't understand what you were going through. I didn't understand just what it was like to have a scheming tramp walk away with the love of my life …back then."

"No," Gwen argued. "I should have listened to you when you told me to walk away and move on with my life. I should have accepted the evidence that … Theresa could have made no inroads with Ethan if he wasn't tired of me when she came along. I was wrong for trying to hang on to him when he was no longer interested."

"I still don't feel like I was supportive enough," Sheridan insisted. "I was too wrapped up in my own happiness … and drama."

"Well, that's all right," Gwen assured her. "Things are great now that … I finally listened to you. I've got my … offspring … I can access my own money, so I have the wherewithal to support … us. I love my townhouse. I decorated it to suit my own tastes. It was … nice … not having to consult with anyone else. It's on a beautiful cul-de-sac and Boston is a town with a lot of amenities and a certain amount of anonymity. I mean, don't get me wrong; I'm making friends, but they're _my _friends, not … anyone else's. All, I can say is that it is awesome having a private life again."

"You're all alone," Sheridan marveled. "How can you be happy being alone?"

"I don't know if 'happy' is an accurate word," Gwen conceded. "All I know is that I'm not as miserable alone now as I was back when I was still officially Ethan's wife with Theresa sniffing around our marriage all the time. I think I can honestly say that I'm content. Is it everything I want? No. But it is what it is. My life isn't a total mockery, because I'm not living a lie like I was when I was with Ethan."

"I hate being alone," Sheridan admitted. "I don't know how you stand it."

"I'm living on my own with my … offspring," Gwen reasoned. "But I have a great support network with my father and my friends and my job in Boston. I think you are confusing living on your own with being isolated."

"Isn't it," Sheridan demanded.

"No," Gwen explained. "I was never alone in Harmony, but I felt totally isolated. I had Ethan warming my bed, but that was cold comfort knowing as I did that he was dreaming of Theresa. Then there was the constant hostility I had to face from Harmony itself. I totally underestimated how much people loved the Cinderella Fairytale, especially when it involved a beautiful, working class, hometown girl. The last thing they wanted was your average rich bitch from Boston to screw that up. Those who weren't actively helping Theresa were secretly rooting against me, no matter how polite they were to my face and I could just feel it. It's nice not being an object of pity and derision, anymore."

As if on cue, a couple who had attended Gwen's opening gala event to celebrate The Winthrop Family Law Firm's grand opening walked up the path. Sheridan noticed how Gwen stiffened slightly and pasted a polite smile on her face, nodding in a courteous manner. If she hoped the couple would simply follow suit, it was in vain.

"Hi, Gwen," the woman smirked cattily. "I haven't seen you since the night of the party. I thought you were avoiding us."

"Not at all, Corinne … John," Gwen said graciously. "I've been keeping busy living and working in Boston now and just loving it."

"Well, living in Boston certain agrees with you Gwen," the man said sympathetically, looking embarrassed while his wife looked deflated.

"There is so much to do there," Gwen continued significantly. "It's great having a full life again. I wish I had made this change years ago."

"Really," the wife asked suspiciously. "Well, next time we're in Boston, we'll look you up."

"You do that," Gwen smiled. "You still have my cell phone number, I believe. Well, I haven't changed it so that Ethan can stay in touch with Jenny. Feel free to give me a call so I can show off the sights."

"We'll do that, Gwen," the man smiled compassionately while his wife looked chagrined. "Thank you for the gracious invitation."

"We really have to go, John," his wife chided him, looking annoyed. "Marshall and Dora are going to meet us at the mall any minute."

"Well, don't let me keep you," Gwen said gaily. "I hope both have a lovely afternoon."

"You, too, Gwen," the man said with a little too much warmth.

"Bye, Gwen," his wife said pointedly.

"Goodbye, John … Corinne," Gwen waved, muttering to Sheridan, "I spoke too soon, but do you see what I mean? This is isolation."

"I do see," Sheridan sympathized. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be," Gwen ordered her. "This is temporary. It ends as soon as I go back to living … on my own in Boston surrounded by people who care for me."

Sheridan looked thoughtful and Gwen believed it was politic to say nothing, but simply allow Sheridan to process everything she had seen Gwen go through and come to a rational decision about her own situation with Fancy and Luis.

They walked in silence a little further and Gwen started to relax, noticing that no one else who knew her and Ethan that well were in the immediate vicinity. She was startled when Sheridan froze in her tracks with a horrible, stricken look on her face.

Filled with dread, Gwen's eyes reluctantly sought out what Sheridan was staring at with such an awful, agonized expression on her face.

Gwen saw that Sheridan was looking at Harmony's Precious Jewelry Emporium. Through the window, she saw a smiling Luis with Chad and Whitney, his two sisters, Theresa and Paloma, Ethan, and Ethan's half-brother, Noah who were all laughing and joking in an excited, celebratory mood.

The jeweler was unlocking a mahogany wooden case. Filled inside were gorgeous rings of a decidedly feminine set. A giggling Whitney was trying on rings, holding them up to the light for everyone to inspect, obviously making cheeky remarks to Chad who was rolling his eyes and laughing at her sallies.

With a sinking heart, Gwen glumly realized what was going on. Though she had been expecting this, sooner rather than later, she was unprepared for its nasty punch effect it had in her midsection. And all she had had with Luis was a one night stand that had thankfully been watered down to a warm, mutually respectful friendship. She could not even bear to think of what witnessing this spectacle was doing to a woman who had invested years of her life in a relationship with Luis and even shared a dead child with him.

It was obvious that Luis had taken his entourage of friends to the jewelry store, because he was shopping for an engagement ring for Fancy and was planning to surprise her with it, later on.

Before Gwen could stop her, Sheridan raised her head proudly, set her chin obstinately and marched purposefully into the jewelry store, closing the door firmly behind her. From her own vantage point, Gwen saw everyone in the jewelry store jump and turn, looking startled. Gwen quietly slipped through the door of the jewelry store behind Sheridan, feeling like she was about to witness a slow-motion train wreck which she was powerless to stop.

"Hello Luis," Sheridan said brightly, with eyes that sparkled like ice cold diamonds. "Ring shopping, I see?"

"Sheridan," Luis gasped. Feeling like a child who had been caught with his hand in the cookie jar, he looked at Gwen in a mute appeal only to notice her own helpless, apologetic demeanor.

"May I presume to congratulate you," Sheridan continued sweetly, while her set expression and glittering eyes glinted coldly to belie her dulcet tones. "I assume you are going to propose to my niece?"

Gwen noticed that Sheridan left Fancy's name unsaid as if the very mention of her was too distasteful for words.

"Yes, he is," Theresa said in firm, defiant tones.

"I see," Sheridan said, staring at the rings.

"Look, Sheridan," Luis said gently in somewhat apologetic tones. "I'm sorry you walked in on this and found out about this so publicly. I was going to wait until after the funeral to tell you that I would be proposing to Fancy in a few weeks, after everything has calmed down."

"Don't be," Sheridan said flatly. "This is not unexpected. I take it you know Fancy's ring size," she continued, surprising everybody by her abrupt change of subject.

"Yes," Theresa interjected. "I sneaked into Fancy's room and borrowed a similar ring which Paloma, Whitney and I all tried on. As luck would have it, Whitney is the same size as Fancy, so she is modeling rings for Luis to inspect."

"Really," Sheridan enquired. "What size is Fancy?"

"She's a size six and a half," Luis answered blankly.

"Wow, what a coincidence," Sheridan commented. "That's my size … exactly. I really think I should help you, Luis."

"Help me," Luis asked puzzled. "How?"

"Help you pick out the perfect ring by modeling them myself," Sheridan reasoned. "After all, I am the only woman in the room with Fancy's coloring," she continued raking Whitney challenging with those glittering eyes. "And I know exactly what Fancy would like, because we have tastes soooo much in common. You are living proof of that, Luis."

Nonplussed, Whitney took off the ring and retreated to Chad's side while Ethan and Noah looked like they wanted to sink through the floor, Theresa looked annoyed, and Paloma raised her eyebrows.

"Gwen-" Luis started to say, while staring frantically in Gwen's direction.

"Gwen may be a blonde, too," Sheridan persisted, "But that is not her natural hair color. Moreover, she has ash skin tones, not peach skin tones like my niece."

"I wear a size seven and a half," Gwen added apologetically.

"Oh, your fingers look so slender," Luis muttered irrelevantly.

"That's because they're so long," Sheridan smiled.

Getting no further argument or objection, Sheridan avidly, examined the rings in the jeweler's box. While everyone watched her with baited breath, she would pull one and then another ring out of the box and hold it up to the light, studying it critically, like a connoisseur . Taking the wedding and engagement rings Chris Boothe had given her, Sheridan shifted them to her right hand and slipped a ring set she had taken from the box onto her left ring finger and held it up to the light, asking for opinions which were dutifully made. Then she took those off and repeated the process with yet another set and then another.

"Wow, they are all so beautiful; it's hard to decide," Luis remarked. "What do you guys think?"

"I can't decide. I think that's decision is best left up to the ladies," Noah conceded.

Theresa, Paloma, and Whitney couldn't agree.

"Gwen," Luis asked, "What do you think?"

"I would be proud to wear any of those rings. Sheridan has exquisite taste," Gwen answered, not feeling like she dared to say anything more.

"You know what I think," Theresa commented. "I think the best thing for you to do is propose to Fancy and then bring her back here to pick out her own rings-"

"Nonsense," Sheridan interjected sweetly. "I think your original idea to surprise her with an engagement ring is so much more romantic. Now, I would pick this set, right here, if I were you, Luis. To me, it's the perfect balance between the old and the new designs. I think it will appreciate in value as a classic design. It would never be outdated."

"That is the perfect choice, ma'am," the jeweler remarked.

"Yes, I know," Sheridan responded.

Luis said, "Sheridan, I appreciate this, but I don't know if Fancy would find you choosing this ring set appropriate-"

"She found you appropriate enough," Sheridan replied. Luis looked uncomfortable about this and opened his mouth to say something, but she forestalled him. "Look, if you think that knowing I chose this ring would stop Fancy from choosing it herself, than you don't know her as well as you think you do. I love this ring, so I know she will want it. But if you want to ruin the romantic surprise you planned for her, there's nothing I can do to stop you."

Sheridan nonchalantly slid the ring set off her left hand and handed it back to the jeweler.

"Are you ready to go," Sheridan asked Gwen.

"I've been ready," Gwen retorted and moved to the door.

"Sheridan, wait," Luis called. "I'm sorry. You're right that ring set is perfect." He looked at the jeweler. "I'll take it and pay for it now."

"Of course, sir," the jeweler responded, putting the ring in a box and a bag, and taking the credit card that Luis had handed him.

"Thank you, Sheridan," Luis said gratefully. "I'm sure Fancy will love it."

"So am I," Sheridan answered. "Good bye, Luis."

Sheridan left the jewelry store, followed by Gwen.

"Are you really going to buy Fancy that ring," Theresa demanded, with her hands on her hips.

"Yes, I am," Luis said. "It really is the best ring set offered for sale here."

"We could go to another store," Paloma suggested while the jeweler looked alarmed.

"No," Luis responded. "I've window-shopped at other stores and this store offers the best quality by far."

The jeweler visibly relaxed.

"Besides, I told Sheridan that I'm buying this ring and I don't want to hurt her feelings by being deceitful and choosing another one behind her back."

"Luis, it makes no sense to me for Sheridan to even want to help you pick out Fancy's engagement ring," Whitney said. "It's obvious to me that she still has strong feelings for you."

"I know she's not thrilled that I plan to marry Fancy," Luis conceded, "But maybe this is her way of making peace with it by using this ring to symbolically give us both her well-wishes, at least."

"Maybe," Theresa echoed skeptically.

"I sure hope so," Paloma muttered.

Outside, Gwen and Sheridan continued on their way. Gwen was relieved to notice that Sheridan did not seem the least distraught. Perhaps, Gwen reasoned, helping Luis to pick Fancy's engagement ring was Sheridan's way of reaching closure on her own relationship with Luis.

"I thought it was very gracious of you to help Luis pick an engagement ring for Fancy," Gwen said tentatively. "You're a better woman than I am, Sheridan. I don't think I could do that for Ethan and Theresa-"

She stopped short when she saw Sheridan smile derisively at her.

"I'm a better woman than you are, Gwen? Get real! I didn't pick out that engagement ring for Fancy, that's for sure."

"Sheridan? Do you mean that-"

"Yes, Gwen. The only thing I would pick out for my treacherous little niece is her coffin! That ring is for me."

"For you? Oh, Sheridan, I can't believe you believe that you can get Luis back now. Didn't you hear him? He's planning to propose to Fancy. There is nothing you can do about it."

"I can and I will," Sheridan said stubbornly. "The only finger he will be slipping MY engagement set on is mine. Believe it."

Without another word, Sheridan left Gwen in the park, shaking her head in bemusement.


	27. The Perpetual Motion Machine

Feeling floored by Luis' admission to Sheridan that he was going to formally propose to Fancy in a few weeks, Gwen blindly walked to a nearby park bench to gather her thoughts. Logically, Luis' proposal was not unexpected. Had he not told Hank in her own home that proposing to Fancy was exactly what he intended to do? I guess my brain accepted the news, but my heart didn't, Gwen thought ruefully. In spite of herself, Gwen looked back at Luis and his entourage still inside Harmony's Precious Jewelry Emporium. It was like picking at a scab, because sure enough Luis and his friends were talking about Sheridan much like Ethan and his friends had probably talked about her during those dark, futile days when she was still fighting Theresa to hold onto Ethan.

Their expressions conveyed pity, derision, irritation, curiosity, and speculation. The same expressions that Gwen had gotten used to seeing from the townspeople of Harmony since her pregnancy with Sarah had precipitated her own shotgun wedding to Ethan. Gwen could only imagine the conversation about Sheridan. Was she finally going to accept that her relationship with Luis was OVAH? Why was she being so damned, stubborn, stupid, etc., ad nauseum ad infinitum?

They had no idea. There was a part of Gwen who felt that it behooved her, as Sheridan's best friend, to go after her and try to talk some sense into her but there was another part of her that wanted to avoid Sheridan like the plague. Sheridan troubled her. She was calm and controlled on the surface, but underneath was lurking something crazed that felt both so familiar yet so alien to Gwen that it scared the hell out of her. The crazed, she could relate to, because Ethan's obsession with Theresa had pushed her over the border to Crazy Land herself enough times. However, there was also a low cunning there, a malevolence that bordered on reptilian about Sheridan these days that terrified Gwen. She shivered and then reproached herself for being fanciful.

Gwen suspected that her growing sense of discomfort with Sheridan's obstinate determination to win Luis back from Fancy might stem from her own secret longing for the man. Mind you, this is a man who had only enjoyed a one-time-only physical encounter with you and then moved you into The Friend Zone a long time ago, Gwen chided herself. Well, Gwen decided, Sheridan has been my dearest friend for much longer than I have been Luis's good buddy! Moreover, Sheridan is going through a rough time and needs me more than ever.

Gwen got up and slowly walked back to Crane House, because she felt duty-bound to support her friend. She noticed Pilar Lopez-Fitzgerald straightening some magazines displayed on the coffee table in the sitting room off of the foyer.

"Excuse me, Pilar," Gwen said politely. "I'm sorry to disturb you, but have you seen Sheridan?"

"Yes I have, Gwen," Pilar said flatly. "She told me she was tired and had the headache so she would be retiring to her room and does not want to be disturbed."

Witnessing his friends help Luis pick an engagement ring for Fancy must have been more painful to Sheridan than I thought, Gwen realized sympathetically, feeling a little guilty over her initial impatience with her best friend. Sheridan wasn't in denial; she was clinging to her dignity at the time, as I would have. That show of confidence was just a brave front on her part for my benefit. Once she was alone, she could admit to herself that she was devastated.

Aloud, Gwen said, "Oh, all right, then. I think I could use a nap myself, so if she needs me later on, please tell Sheridan I'll be in my own room."

Gwen briefly looked in on Jenny in the Cramer Nursery and smiled, in spite of herself. Both she and Jane were taking a nap and were curled around each other like little kittens. Once again, Gwen counted her blessings as she drank in the very sight of them, thinking that they looked like little angels who were also photo negatives of each other.

Gwen couldn't totally relax, so she took a warm, luxuriant shower, reveling in the pulsing of the shower head that was designed to replicate a full-body massage. She sighed in pleasure, thinking that the first thing she would do when she returned to Boston is call a plumber and update her own shower. After all, since there was no one else to do it, she might as well pamper herself.

She ordered up some hot herbal tea that was designed to further relax her, sipped it slowly while trying to clear her mind of all worry and tension. Slowly, but inexorably, she felt exhaustion overtake her and she slipped into unconsciousness.

Before she knew it, Gwen had entered an REM state and was dimly surprised to find herself and her mother back in The Crane Study with Theresa Lopez-Fitzgerald's lap top. Rebecca was hell-bent on opening it and Gwen was back to fulminating over losing Ethan to Theresa. She heard her mother gloating at finding Ethan's paternity secret that Theresa had scanned into her lap top. She heard herself arguing with Rebecca about sending it to the tabloid, but felt herself relenting. No sooner than Rebecca had hit the send button, she heard a loud noise and nearly knocked over something off the table in front of the mirror. She grabbed it to steady it, but felt an unpleasant burst of energy, like a near-lethal surge of electricity jolt through her. Snatching her hand away like it had been burned, Gwen stared at the object. It was an ugly, alien, robotic looking thing with "eyes" that glowed like red coals.

What was that noise it kept making? It was horrible. It grated on Gwen's ears, not to mention her nerves, worse than nails on chalkboard. No, that would have been infinitely more pleasant by comparison. This was a low, reverberating, sound that kept grinding like some silverware caught in a garbage disposal, only infinitely worse.

Afraid to examine this curiosity more closely by picking it up lest she get another unpleasant shock, Gwen narrowed her eyes in a squint to read what was inscribed. "Perpetual Motion Machine, Incorporated," Gwen read aloud, "What the hell is that?" There was something else in smaller writing. Were her eyes deceiving her or did it say "The Ethan Project?" The machine was whirring faster and faster. The smaller writing kept changing rapidly, back and forth, and back and forth. No, Gwen thought. Now it says "The Kaye Project." Then it changed to "The Luis Project." All the sudden there was a high, piercing, whining sound that caused Gwen to wince involuntarily and then look away into the direction of the mirror and then gasp. Rather than her own image, Gwen saw that, staring back at her was the reflection of Sheridan with an expression of hatred so insane that it chilled Gwen to the bone. She woke up in a cold sweat.

Trying to calm down, Gwen sat on her bed drinking some water, while she tried to analyze her dream about Sheridan. It disturbed her enough that her immediate impulse was to create an emergency in Boston so that she could then get Jenny and leave Harmony immediately. But after several moments' reflection, Gwen realized that this dream must be a simple manifestation of the double-bind she was caught in where Luis and Sheridan were concerned, because she loved them both. And that was the problem.

It certainly did not help that she knew exactly what Sheridan was going through. After all, she had just traversed the final stages of the ugly death of her relationship with Ethan at the hands of Theresa Lopez-Fitzgerald; acceptance. Though she would never like that scheming tramp, she was surprised by the equanimity with which she could watch Ethan bond with Theresa's daughter, the real Jane Pilar Lopez-Fitzgerald Winthrop. She had expected to be torn up with pain for Jenny and residual jealousy for herself.

Then there was that terrible but wonderful mistake she herself had made by impulsively making love with Luis to console him that awful night Marty died. It should have never happened. The one person to whom Sheridan's former lover should have been off-limits was Sheridan's best friend. For if Gwen had never gone there, Luis would have remained comfortably in the "friend zone," so that she could be more of a friend to them both in order to effectively mediate some kind of peace between both him and Sheridan. She would not have to deal with her own unrequited crush on Luis which constantly made her second-guess her own attitude toward Sheridan, because she suspected a subconscious personal agenda of her own slipping in where he was concerned.

No. The dream itself was not a warning, but a reaction to Gwen being forced to revisit her own painful and sordid drama with Ethan and Theresa, because her close friendship with Sheridan and her own unrequited crush on Sheridan's ex-lover was making her relive all those old feelings of rejection, abandonment, humiliation and isolation. Moreover, her secret guilt at betraying Sheridan was also making its effects felt.

Out of the corner of her eye, Gwen thought she saw something resembled that odd Perpetual Motion Machine and frowned, but focused her gaze on the item. To her relief, it was just a desktop clock. She realized that it was nearly time to attend Chris Boothe's Rosary Mass. Sheridan would need her by her best friend by her side to support her through her ordeal.

Sighing in resignation, Gwen dutifully picked up the phone and dialed Sheridan's room. To her relief, Sheridan sounded … as normal as could be expected …. to Gwen's ears. She spoke about the Mass with a certain sad wistfulness, but graciously arranged to meet Gwen downstairs so that Gwen could escort her to the Crane Chapel.

After they both hung up, Gwen dressed with great care and went down stairs. All the adults were there, except Sheridan. The adults had all agreed that the children should stay at Crane House and that Sheridan and James could then later grieve for Chris privately. They all sat around the room, engaged in muted conversation.

Gwen jumped as she heard a low, masculine voice at her ear.

"How's my great nephew?"

Gwen faced Hank Bennett's squarely and looked at him warily.

"Little Ethan appears to be fine, don't you think?" Gwen said firmly.

"Oh, he's great," Hank agreed, his hazel eyes gleaming in sardonic amusement at Gwen's expression. "But you know who I am talking about, Gwen, so why are you acting like you don't?"

"Yes, I do," Gwen admitted, "But this is hardly the place or time for a full-blown status report."

"A single sentence would do just nicely," Hank said, his expression remaining unchanged, but his eyes twinkling in subtle amusement at her defensiveness.

"He's healthy and thriving," Gwen said tightly, "and I would like him to remain that way. Have you forgotten your promise?"

"No, Ma'am," Hank answered with mock servility.

"Good," Gwen responded shortly. "Because I believe we would both be very sorry if you couldn't keep it."

After throwing Hank a warning look, Gwen walked over to make pleasantries with Luis and Fancy.

Hank raised his eyebrow sardonically at Gwen's retreating back.

"What was that about," Hank heard Theresa ask and started slightly.

"What was what about," Hank responded, playing dumb.

"That business with you and Gwen," Theresa enquired curiously. "I've seen that look in her eye before and Gwen looked like she wanted to smack the hell out of you."

"Oh, you know Miss High Society," Hank responded casually. "She requires high maintenance treatment and won't settle for less. I like to lift her skirts by refusing to give it to her."

"You need to stop that," Theresa laughed, remembering that Hank always thought Gwen was a self-entitled snob. "Everyone's been on their best behavior, so don't stir the pot. Be patient. She will only be here for two more days, tops."

"I'll remember that and be a good boy," Hank promised mischievously.

"I mean it, Hank!"

"Your wish is my command, Short Stuff."

A few minutes later, Sheridan descended the stairs, looking impossibly beautiful in a form-fitting but tasteful back sheath. Around her neck she wore a simple strand of pearls her late husband given her and her golden hair shone through the black lace veil she was wearing. Her lovely face was sad and pale. Her lovely blue eyes were moist, but not red. She was the picture of the tragic but regal widow, exuding a controlled fragility that drew the eye of every warm-blooded male in the room.

Gwen smiled sourly and Theresa actually scowled as, like a bee to the flower, Hank was immediately at Sheridan's side.

"Sheridan," Hank said soberly, though his eyes it up with masculine appreciation at the vision she created, "I am so sorry about your loss. Allow me to escort you."

"But Gwen agreed to be my escort," Sheridan replied, her beautiful cerulean blue eyes widening innocently.

"That's all right," Gwen said. "I've gotten used to traveling solo."

She was relieved that Hank was providing a strong, distracting, masculine shoulder for Sheridan to lean on. Hopefully that meant Sheridan could feel free to simply grieve her late husband without seeing Luis and Sheridan as a couple to enforce her own sense of loneliness. Even more important, Hank would be too distracted playing gallant knight to Sheridan to needle Gwen about Jon-Luis!

"Luckily, Miguel is also traveling solo, so he can escort you, Gwen," Theresa said and beckoned to her handsome younger brother who reluctantly tore himself away from the side of a vivacious Kaye Bennett as a glowering Fox Crane visibly relaxed.

The party filed out of Crane House, headed toward Crane Chapel where everyone duly supported Sheridan in her grief at the Rosary Mass. Hank Bennett, the handsome young FBI agent, provided a manly arm and a strong, muscular shoulder for the widow of Christopher Boothe to lean on and shed her tears. All eyes were on Sheridan who in her beauty, radiated sadness, grief and a new vulnerability that was touching to all the women and drew the eye of every susceptible man in the room, including Luis, Gwen noticed.

The prayers and offerings and sense of community support for Sheridan seemed to give the entire gathering a sense of peace and resignation to the inevitable tragedy of such a young man's passing.

That aura of peace and resignation lasted as long as it took to return back to Crane House where the wake that everyone would gather at to toast his memory would take place. It was only then that the same sense of unease that plagued Gwen with that weird dream came back. More muted this time, but still there.

Miguel had wasted no time in leaving Gwen's side and promptly joined Kaye Bennett even though it was evident by his unenthusiastic greeting that her fiancée, Fox Crane, wanted to be left alone with her. It was all too clear that Miguel was well aware of Crane's feelings, but was obstinately ignoring the "go away" vibes he was exuding.

There it was again, that awful grinding noise. But very low. Gwen looked around to see if anyone else besides her had heard it, but no one seemed to notice.

Gwen shrugged and started to walk toward Ethan and Theresa, marveling that she would willingly see them as a refuge against anything, but that noise only got louder. Wincing slightly, she noticed that Fancy, Luis, Sheridan and Hank seemed to be carrying on a very cordial conversation, but as she walked up on them, that noise tore at her ears.

Again, Gwen seemed surprised that no one seemed to notice it; to her ears it sounded so loud.

She made a beeline toward Ivy, Sam, Julian and Eve. It was there that the noise stopped and she gratefully joined them to make pleasantries.

Pilar ushered in Kaye's English landlady, Tabitha Lennox and a beautiful young blonde woman. Mrs. Lennox had surprised Gwen a few years back when she had had that adorable little girl named Endora. Gwen had privately thought Mrs. Lennox was way too old to have a healthy child at that age, but Endora was had been such a great secret comfort to Gwen whenever she saw her, even though she was Sarah's age if she had lived. When Endora was a little toddler, Gwen would always find reasons to look for her when she was outside playing and slip her little treats.

"I'm sorry that I missed the Rosary Mass," Gwen heard Mrs. Lennox say. "Endora was out of sorts and I left her at home to be tended by a babysitter. This is my niece, Samantha Crowley, who surprised me with a visit. I hope you don't mind that I brought her?"

"Not at all," Ethan said stoutly. "We're pleased to meet you, Miss Crowley."

"Oh call me 'Samantha,'" Miss Crowley said sweetly and smiled radiantly at Gwen whose nerves had been stretched tight beyond belief by her imaginings. The young woman's smile was infectious and Gwen could not help returning it in full measure, feeling somewhat charmed and relieved. Samantha Crowley was exactly what Gwen had imagined young Endora Lennox would grow up to be with that sweet, enigmatic expression of hers. Was it her own imagination run wild or did Miss Crowley smile at her reassuringly?


	28. When Push Comes To Shove

"Hi, Samantha," Gwen smiled warmly at Tabitha's niece. "We haven't been formally introduced but I used to live in the boarding house next door to your aunt's boarding house. I'm Gwen Hotchkiss."

"I'm pleased to meet you, Gwen," Samantha responded in a British accent, similar to her Aunt Tabitha's. "Where do you live now?"

"I moved to Boston," Gwen answered and the two had a pleasant discussion about Boston and its many amenities for several minutes.

The doorbell rang and Pilar opened it to a husband and wife team who had worked closely with Chris Boothe and were there to pay their respects at the wake. The woman was holding a little boy who looked like a blonde cherub with big blue eyes in her arms.

Theresa moved forward to greet them.

"Ed… Holly… how kind of you to come," she said graciously.

Sheridan approached them as if drawn by a magnet, appearing unable to tear her eyes from the sight of their toddler.

"We can't stay long," Holly apologized. "As you can see, our babysitter bailed on us at the last minute and we had to bring our son. But we didn't feel right about not stopping by to pay our respects. Chris was a great friend and a wonderful coworker and we'll miss him."

"All Chris liked to do when we were not conducting business is talk about you and his kids, Sheridan," Ed added. "It was obvious to us all how crazy he was about all of you. I know he'd want us to support you in your grief."

"He was a wonderful man," Sheridan said, "I'll miss him, too."

Sheridan's beautiful blue eyes welled with tears and her lower lip quivered, as waves of grief overwhelmed her. Seeing Ed and Holly come to pay their respects and talk about Chris in the past tense was making the shroud of denial that Sheridan had wrapped herself in start to shred.

Her husband's death had seemed too surreal for Sheridan to believe in her heart of hearts. Now it was clear that nothing would change if she just woke up and that he would never walk through her door again to kiss her on the cheek, hold Katie, or play with James ever again.

Noticing Sheridan's reaction, Theresa sighed and all but visibly rolled her eyes for everyone in the room to see. Yes, Sheridan was very convincing as Chris Boothe's grieving wife, but Theresa knew that underneath Sheridan's tragically bereft young wife and mother façade, the Merry Widow Boothe was scheming how to steal Luis from her beautiful young niece, Fancy.

"We are just so sorry about the baby-sitter. We can't apologize enough. It isn't appropriate to intrude with our little boy-" Holly started to say, but was interrupted by her hostess.

"Nonsense," Theresa interposed. "This is Chris's wake, not his funeral. Tonight, we celebrate his life and that includes his children. We've just returned from his Rosary Mass and were planning to bring the children down to mingle with the adults. We have three toddlers to keep your little boy company, even if they are all little girls. What's his name, anyway?"

"Matthew," Ed answered, beaming with fatherly pride at the child in Holly's arms.

"Matthew," Sheridan repeated. "I can't get over how much he looks like my son at that age."

"I saw James' picture on Chris's desk," Holly remarked. "His hair is brown and his eyes are hazel, now. I guess they changed color as he got older?"

"No," Sheridan corrected Holly sadly. "I wasn't talking about my stepson. I was talking about the little boy that I lost over a year ago. I was talking about my son, Marty. He had a thick head of wavy blonde hair and blue eyes just like Matthew."

"Oh, Sheridan," Holly replied, slightly taken aback. "I'm so sorry, but Chris never mentioned Marty. I guess he though the subject would make people too uncomfortable. I can't imagine the pain you have suffered. I don't know how you got over losing Marty and still kept your sanity. I know that if anything happened to Matthew, they'd have to bury me the next day."

"I never got over losing Marty," Sheridan admitted pensively. "I still miss him … so much."

To Theresa's annoyance, it looked as if Matthew's fleeting resemblance to Marty would offer Sheridan yet another reason to need Luis's strong shoulder to lean upon.

Theresa had no doubt in her mind that Sheridan would waste no time making a beeline to Luis to talk about Matthew … no, Marty … wistfully with him. Would Sheridan even allow her late husband's body to grow cold in the grave before she used their lost son to get Luis back? Theresa didn't think so. Not with the obsessively possessive behavior Sheridan had displayed toward Luis when Chris was still alive.

Sheridan already presented a sympathetic picture as a young widowed mother with two small vulnerable children who needed the protection of some knight errant. Add the fact that she was his dead son's mother, and Theresa feared that Luis and his innate gallantry would find such a combination too irresistible to resist.

Well, luckily he has his baby sister to run interference, Theresa thought.

With brittle cheer, Theresa interposed, "But James is such a wonderful little boy and such a great consolation to Sheridan."

For a few seconds, Sheridan looked as nonplussed at Theresa's interjection as if the younger woman had slapped her, but recovered. "Yes," she agreed and bravely added, "Of course, I still have Katie to keep me going, especially now that Chris is gone."

"That's great," Ed said a little too heartily, in obvious relief. "Children do have a way of keeping us strong."

"They sure do," Theresa agreed sweetly. "Please follow me into the living room and join the rest of us. I'll send up a servant to the nursery, so children should be down in a few minutes to give Matthew some company."

"That's okay," Gwen said, noticing that her breasts had started to leak a little, "I spilled some of my drink on my top again and need to go upstairs to change, anyway – I'm such a klutz, lately – I'll go get them."

"Thanks, Gwen," Theresa said. Without another word to anyone, Theresa coldly and calculatedly turned her back on Sheridan and walked toward Luis and Fancy with Ed and Holly Blake trailing behind.

A grateful Ed and Holly took Matthew and followed Theresa into the living room from the foyer. By some of the murmurs and remarks Sheridan heard people made as they came in, it was clear that everyone was admiring that cute little boy.

Sheridan's jaw had dropped slightly over the nasty shock she felt at Theresa's cavalier dismissal of any display of grief from herself over Chris or Marty. She fought down her anger and tried to compose herself for fear that she would go into the living room and stage a scene by yanking that little bitch back by her long raven-black tresses of hair and trying to break her scrawny little neck, like she had witnessed Gwen do to Theresa many times during their epic battles over Ethan.

Oh, Gwen has all my sympathy now, Sheridan thought ironically. In fact, I think she was too restrained in her reactions to that little troll!

Aloud, Sheridan offered, "I'll help."

Sheridan was relieved that there was something to distract her attention from Matthew who looked hauntingly like Marty at that age.

Gwen and Sheridan headed up the stairs together.

To Gwen's relief, Sheridan said, "I have to freshen up myself. Let's meet in the nursery in ten minutes."

Gwen nodded and went to her room. There she stripped to the waist, expressed her breast milk into the bathroom sink and gave her upper torso a slight sponge bath. She towel-dried, talcum-powdered the area, changed into a new brassiere and slipped into an attractive, but conservative sheath.

Within the allotted time, she met Sheridan at the nursery where she was in the process of rounding up the children.

Little Ethan and James were filled up with pent-up energy and bounded down the stairs before they could be stopped, causing Sheridan and Gwen to shake their heads and laugh ruefully.

But at least, Gwen thought, we can focus on the girls who would want to walk down rather than be carried down, but who were still too young to traverse the stairs without close supervision. As she gathered Jane, Maria, and Jennifer together, she noticed that Sheridan had picked up Katie.

"You're taking Katie," Gwen noted. "Isn't she still too little to be with the other children?"

"I'm not bringing Katie down for the other children," Sheridan answered. "I can't get over how much little Matthew Blake looks like Marty at that age. God, I miss my little boy! But, I know that I've lost him forever, so I'm bringing Katie down for me … so I can remind myself about what I still have."

Gwen nodded in understanding. Even though she would grieve the loss of Sarah and Nathan until the day she died, she was still grateful for and took much comfort from the presence of Jenny and Jon-Louis in her life.

By some kind of unspoken pre-arrangement, Gwen found herself heading down the stairs ahead of Sheridan with Jane and Jenny on either side of her, firmly gripping their little hands. Sheridan was following behind her, carrying Katie in one arm while using her free hand to hold onto Kay's daughter Maria.

"Here we come," Gwen announced gaily to the assembly of people in Crane House's living room as they stepped off the landing and came down the stairs together. Everyone inside looked up at Gwen and Sheridan descending the stairway and smiled.

To Gwen's chagrin, she noticed that awful couple she and Sheridan had run into the park earlier. John Milton and that odious cat of a wife of his, Corinne, were in the throng of people attending the wake in the living room. Unpleasantly surprised to see them, Gwen idly wondered if Corinne had convinced John to crash the wake. From what she had seen of the woman, Gwen would not have been shocked if this was the case.

The dreadfully sordid scene that the Miltons witnessed during the gala Gwen had thrown to celebrate the Winthrop Family Firm's grand opening flashed through Gwen's memory. Obviously Gwen's humiliation at finding Ethan and Theresa making love on his office desk had only whetted Corinne's appetite for more. Even now, Corrine had positioned herself in the room to watch what she obviously hoped would be more fireworks between Gwen and Theresa.

Well, Gwen was going to disabuse that bitch of any of her notions that Gwen Hotchkiss would be providing the likes of Corinne Milton with any more lowbrow entertainment with Theresa Lopez-Fitzgerald! Catching Theresa's eye, Gwen smiled warmly at her and nodded cordially. She almost laughed out loud at the look of chagrin on Corinne Milton's face. Satisfied that she had rained on Corinne's parade, she dismissed the vulgar gossip as the non-entity that she was and concentrated on the business of bringing the children down to join the room.

Not knowing Gwen's reasons, Theresa was somewhat baffled by Gwen's warm smile directed at herself. Yes, things had thawed considerably between the two of them, but that was just both of them observing the rules of hospitality. Theresa was bending over backwards to be a good hostess to her unwelcome guest, Gwen in order to please Ethan who wanted to see Gwen's daughter, Jenny, without losing any more time with Theresa's daughter, Jane. There was also Theresa's fervent hope that if Gwen felt that Jenny would be safe and well-treated in Theresa's care, Gwen would allow Jenny to visit Ethan and Jane without Gwen hovering in Harmony.

Theresa assumed that Gwen had her own private reasons for being on her best behavior. What they were, Theresa neither knew nor cared. In any case, aside from exchanging polite pleasantries, Gwen and Theresa did not go out of their way to acknowledge each other more than what was required by social etiquette.

Through the rails holding up the stairway banister, Theresa could see that the three little girls were being walked down the stairs in their own party finery. They smiled sweetly looking as if they all felt very grownup to walk down like big girls rather than being carried like little babies.

Theresa noticed that Gwen was in the lead, descending slowly with the two sisters. Theresa would see Jenny by the banister go down a step and then Jane by the interior wall take a step and then Gwen would join them. Sheridan was following closely behind with Kate on her right arm and Maria behind Jane by the wall.

As Gwen, Sheridan and the little girls headed down the stairs, Gwen noticed that Fancy had spotted Matthew and was making a fuss over him. She watched as Fancy held out her arms and a smiling Holly handed Matthew over to Fancy to hold. Fancy then walked over with the boy to show him to Luis.

Gwen's heart ached a little as she watched Luis and Fancy fussing over the beautiful baby in Fancy's arms. Gwen sadly found herself thinking that, in another year or two, the idea that Luis and Fancy would get married and have a child of their own would be another painful reality that Gwen would just have to learn to live with.

Oh well, it's all good, Gwen rationalized to herself, because there IS an upside to this. Fancy and Luis getting married and having a family together gives me yet another reason to stay in Boston, severing all ties with Harmony and keeps Jenny and Jon-Louis away from Ethan and safe from that jealous, possessive psychopath he is engaged to.

Yes, it was a bitch to be alone, but she could take cold comfort at the thought of no more dead babies filling tiny coffins buried in small graves. Seeing the inevitability of Fancy and Luis' future already unfolding before her eyes, Gwen was all that much more impatient to get back to Boston and the little boy she loved so much.

Gwen was not the only woman on the stairs who had noticed the charming picture that Matthew made with Fancy Crane and Luis Lopez Fitzgerald in the living room. Sheridan had noticed what had diverted Gwen's attention as well and then the reality of the future that loomed before her eyes hit her.

Over the past few days, Sheridan had observed Gwen watching Ethan and Theresa bond over and bond with their "new" daughter, the real Jane Pilar Lopez-Fitzgerald with a certain amount of painful serenity. To all intents and purposes, Jenny had been replaced by Theresa's real daughter where Ethan was concerned, but at least Gwen still had her own daughter.

But Sheridan realized that, if Fancy got away with her machinations to steal Luis away, her treacherous niece would not only replace her aunt in his bed, but also give him a son of his own to replace Marty. Marty was dead and never coming back. Marty was so completely dead and gone thanks to that explosion that Sheridan didn't have his body to lay to rest in a grave that she could visit. It was almost like, with his body, the explosion had obliterated Marty's very memory with Luis, who was no doubt imaging the son he would have with Fancy after they married.

The agony Sheridan felt at that moment was unbearable and she thought she would lose her mind then and there. Thank God, for Gwen, Sheridan thought. Even though she now had Jenny to sustain her, Gwen knew what it was like to mourn a child. Sheridan's eyes frantically latched onto Gwen for reassurance, but she was further rocked by what she saw.

At that moment, all of Gwen's rigid social training had come to bear. Politely, she smiled at the touching family tableaux this gorgeous couple made with that beautiful child, as if she was filled with appreciation at the sight. And then it struck Sheridan.

Gwen approves of Luis with Fancy, Sheridan realized, and she was overcome by a rage so overpowering by her best friend's betrayal that she instinctively reacted without thinking.

Tearing her eyes away, Gwen started to proceed again carefully down the stairs with Jenny and Jane when she was so startled by the loud grinding noise of The Perpetual Motion Machine that she jumped in her tracks a little, almost losing her balance. She swayed a little but still held firm when she felt a hard shove from behind, causing Gwen to almost fall face down the stairs, but jostling the arm which was attached to Jane so hard that she lost her grip on the girl.

Gwen felt rather than heard the crowd in the living room cry out in shock at the sight. Sick with dread and foreboding, an ashen-faced Gwen noticed that Jane kept tumbling and crashing down the steep stairs, as if in slow-motion, only to land with a sickening, bone-jarring thud on the marble floor at the foot of the stairwell.

Gwen was aghast to see that she had lost her hold on Jane, but she could not help but convulsively grab Jenny to steady the little girl with the hand that was now free as she fought desperately to regain her own equilibrium. As she straightened up, to Gwen's horror, she noticed that Jane was not breathing and, as blood fanned out from her little head, her big blue eyes were staring sightlessly up the stairs in silent accusation at Gwen.


	29. Suspect Motives

Helplessly, Theresa shrieked in terror as she watched Gwen deliberately and cold-bloodedly pitch Jane head first down the stairs only mere seconds after she had smirked at Theresa so sinisterly.

Shoving everyone in the room around her aside, Theresa scrambled to get to Jane, but Eve had already beaten her to her daughter's crumpled body. Theresa was about to gather Jane into her arms but Eve stopped her.

"Don't, Theresa," Eve said, blocking the smaller woman's access to the child.

"Get out of my way, Eve," Theresa snarled. "Jane needs me!"

Her attention was distracted by a movement at the top of the stairs where her big brown eyes locked on Gwen's still, white face.

"You murderer! You killed my baby," Theresa screamed.

"It was an accident," Gwen protested through stiff, white lips, sounding to her own ears as very cold and detached.

"The hell it was," Theresa raged. "Did you think you could just get away with this? I saw you! I saw you deliberately pitch my baby head first down the stairs and so did everybody else, you stupid bitch!"

Theresa tried to run up the stairs to attack Gwen, but was pulled back by Ethan.

"For the love of God, stop it, Theresa," Ethan begged. "She's got Jenny with her and there are two other small children up there, too. Haven't enough children been hurt tonight already?"

Theresa had to content herself with swearing at Gwen in a torrent of vile abuse rattling Gwen's desperate attempt to pacify the situation.

"I'm going to make sure that you go to jail and they throw away the key," Theresa threatened ominously. "Baby killer!"

And with those words, Gwen became so outraged and angry that she snapped.

"You should know," Gwen defended herself to Theresa furiously. "I see no reason why I should go to jail for accidentally getting one of yours when you went out of your way to take two of mine and are still walking around free, you murderous tramp! So shut your vile hypocritical mouth, you nasty little troll!"

"I want this bitch arrested for murder," Theresa screamed. "Luis-"

"Relax, Theresa," Everyone heard Eve say. They had all been too intent on watching yet another display of the primal hatred between Gwen Hotchkiss and Theresa Lopez-Fitzgerald that had been going on since Ethan had first jilted the rich heiress for the poor housekeeper's daughter.

"Theresa," Eve repeated her name more loudly to get her attention. "Jane is not dead. She's conscious and can hear everything you say. You need to calm down so she will remain still."

"Oh, thank God," Theresa exclaimed fervently. "Jane, Mommy's sorry. Stay still, sweetie!"

Ethan released Theresa, seeing that she had forgotten all about Gwen in that moment.

Theresa immediately raced to Eve and Jane's side.

"Gwen," Ethan said, looking at her sternly. "You and Sheridan need to take the children back to the nursery."

"Not until I find out Jane's prognosis," Gwen said stubbornly, in a cold, toneless voice. She knew that she was not presenting herself very sympathetically to the spectators in the living room. But she was going to be damned if she was going to break down in front of them.

"I didn't think you cared," Ethan said reproachfully.

"Then you never really knew me," Gwen answered more calmly than she felt.

"Eve," Ethan called looking over his shoulder back at Eve who was checking Jane's eyes while Theresa held Jane's hand reassuringly. "How does it look, so far?"

"So far, so good," Eve responded. "Her pupils are dilating normally and she seems responsive enough."

"But all that blood-" Theresa interrupted anxiously.

"It's probably just a scalp wound," Eve reassured Theresa. "They can bleed a lot. It's scary, but not serious. But I've still called an ambulance and I want Jane to be held overnight for observation and for some additional tests, just to be sure."

As if on cue, the emergency medical response team came in with a stretcher and a back board. They slid the backboard under Jane's head, secured the child to the board and then carefully lifted the little girl into the ambulance. Without a backwards glance at Gwen, who was still standing on the stairway, Ethan and Theresa left with the team to ride in the ambulance with Jane to the hospital.

Feeling tears gather in her eyes and terrified of losing her own rigid composure in front of the Milton's, Gwen turned around to see Sheridan standing motionless above her. For a fleeting second, a horrible suspicion came to Gwen as she remembered that she felt like she had been shoved from behind. But Sheridan looked both upset at what happened to Jane and very concerned for Gwen's state of mind. Gwen felt ashamed of her irrational thoughts. No, she must have lost her balance on the stair somehow and lost control of Jane that way. No way, no how was Sheridan even remotely capable of endangering another woman's child.

"It was an accident," Gwen said apologetically to Sheridan, her eyes starting to well with tears.

"I know," Sheridan reassured Gwen gently. "Let's take the children back to the nursery."

Sheridan turned around and headed back up the stairs, taking Maria and Kate with her.

Gwen followed Sheridan from behind, but not before looking at the landing where Jane had almost died that night. It was splattered with blood. Gwen looked down at the step where she had lost her grasp on Jane's hand to see if there was a seam loose in the stairway carpet or something, some defect there that might cause her to lose her balance when she was being so careful with both children, but there was nothing.

Gwen and Sheridan dropped the children off at the nursery and headed back to Gwen's room.

Gwen poured herself a stiff drink with shaking hands and brought the glass to her lips with numb fingers. Neither she nor Sheridan said a word. Gwen sensed that Sheridan was so quiet because she wanted to give her some space to gather her thoughts and compose herself.

Outside of Gwen's room, coming down the hallway walked Luis and Fancy.

"Maybe we should wait until tomorrow morning when everything's calmer," Fancy was saying to Luis.

"We can't do that," Luis said. "We all saw what Theresa saw. It did look like Gwen threw Jane down the stairs."

"Surely, you know Gwen isn't capable of doing anything like that," Fancy protested.

However, Fancy was not sure of what anyone was capable of doing anymore. She was still disturbed by what she herself had noticed just before the incident. And that was the two very odd expressions on the faces of both Gwen and Sheridan.

Fancy had heard Gwen call out and had looked up to see Gwen smile at Theresa and then smile at Luis and herself with little Matthew. Then she saw Gwen sway violently and look surprised and alarmed then horrified as she lost control of Jane. Just like a normal person would react to an accident in progress.

But Sheridan's face was a mask of rage and terrifying hatred. Like Fancy's aunt was full of murderous impulse.

Fancy suspected that Sheridan had something to do with Jane's accident. But she had no proof. She had not actually seen Sheridan shove Gwen so hard that she lost her hold on Jane's hand. She had only seen Sheridan's hand free when it came to letting go of Maria's hand to help Gwen steady herself as she fought to regain her own equilibrium.

"I'm sure that Gwen has a reasonable explanation," Luis said, "But we still have to investigate it and we can only start by asking her what happened."

He resolutely knocked on Gwen's bedroom door and was only dimly surprised to see that it was Sheridan answering.

"Is Gwen available to answer some questions," Luis asked Sheridan.

"I don't think tonight is a good time to bother Gwen," Sheridan told him. "She seems like she is in a state of shock. She just sits there and shakes. I don't think she is in the right mind to correctly recall what happened. Maybe tomorrow would be a better time?"

"That's all right," said Gwen who had been sitting in a chair with her back faced to them. She rose from her chair and turned around to face them all. "Luis and Fancy are just doing their job. I knew that it was just a matter of hours at the most before the police would question me. After all, a-a child was injured. I'll be happy to cooperate in any way I can."

"Luis," Fancy surprised him by saying, "Why don't you take Sheridan's statement in her room? I'll interview Gwen."

Luis looked surprised and somewhat gratified by Fancy's suggestion. It made sense that Fancy rather than he himself question Gwen as Jane, the victim, was his niece. But he knew that Fancy still felt rather insecure about him being alone with Sheridan, especially after finding her alone with him the night of the grand opening of The Winthrop Family Law Firm.

"Sure," he said. "That sounds like the best idea. Sheridan? Are you ready?"

"Of course," Sheridan answered agreeably, but covertly cast a skeptical look at Fancy and was not surprised to see the hard gleam in Fancy's eyes. More than Luis, they both remembered all too clearly what had transpired the night of Ethan's grand opening. Sheridan and Fancy had ended up in a cat fight when Fancy had caught Sheridan trying to talk Luis into ending his relationship with her. Sheridan, of all people, knew that Fancy had no reason to trust her aunt with her lover.

I wonder what Fancy is up to, Sheridan speculated. She sensed that Fancy was suspicious of her but whether it was over something new or for the same old reasons was hard to say. But it was all good. Luis could be relied upon to ask her less hardball questions than Fancy would. He would take her answers at face value. He would not press her for more details out of sheer gallantry.

She smiled sweetly and sailed through the portal as Luis opened the door for her.

"Why don't you sit down, Gwen, and make yourself comfortable," Fancy said, taking the adjoining chair.

"I'm pretty nervous," Gwen said. "I don't know if I'll ever be comfortable enough to make sense of what just happened tonight."

"Just gather your thoughts and tell me what you remember," Fancy said.

"What I remember or what I am sure of," Gwen asked wryly.

"That's a strange answer," Fancy remarked.

"It's a strange, almost surreal situation," Gwen replied.

"Meaning," Fancy prompted.

"Meaning, I don't know for sure," Gwen said. "I was so sure that I was being careful. In fact, I always made a point of being very careful around Jane, because of my … situation with Theresa. I mean, look at Jane! You have to admit that there is no denying whose child she is. For Jane to be hurt under my care is like my worst nightmare come true."

"You mean you care about her," Fancy asked. "You didn't mean to hurt her?"

"I don't have to be head over heels in love with the child to not want to see Jane hurt whether she is in my care or not," Gwen snapped. "It just makes it so much worse that she was with me in my care when she got hurt.

"I know," Fancy commiserated.

"I just wish I had listened to my first instincts and refused Ethan when he asked me to bring Jenny," Gwen fretted. "I could have left Jenny in Boston and then checked in to my hotel room at Harmony Hyatt. That way, I would have attended the wake and there would have been no reason for me to be on those stairs at all!"

"Yes, but Ethan wanted to spend more time with Jenny as well as Jane," Fancy reminded Gwen. "That is why both you and Theresa called a truce so you could stay at Crane House with Jenny."

"Well, both of us make a terrible mistake." Gwen shrugged disconsolately. "With our history together, we should never, ever take any chances with each other's children. I just hope that our carelessness doesn't cost Jane her life or cause her any long-term injuries."

"Let's start with what you are sure of," Fancy suggested.

"I am sure that somehow I lost my balance and nearly fell and lost my hold of Jane's hand," Gwen answered. "That I am sure of. I was so scared that I would send Jenny tumbling after Jane that my only thought was to steady her while trying to regain my equilibrium even as I felt sure that I had killed Jane."

Gwen started shivering again from reaction and felt like she needed another drink. Unsteadily, she made herself to the bar and poured some more brandy into her glass. Fancy observed how her hands trembled.

"And what do you remember," Fancy asked.

"I-this is where I am wondering if I am losing my mind," Gwen said in embarrassment. "I heard it and it startled me and then I felt like it shoved my left shoulder very hard-"

"You heard what," Fancy asked curiously.

"The Perpetual Motion Machine" Gwen said, her hopes sinking by Fancy's puzzled reaction. "It was a dream I had earlier that day when I took a nap."

Fancy listened in fascination as an embarrassed but agitated Gwen recounted her dream of this strange machine with the changing titles. The Ethan Project? The Luis Project? How strange!

Of course, this odd explanation of Gwen's does not exonerate her of any motive for hurting Jane, Fancy worried. In fact, it makes her look worse.

"I know what you are thinking," Gwen accused Fancy. "I took enough psychology courses in college to understand what my hearing the machine from my dream means, especially when no one else heard it. Some shrink would say hearing this machine was some sort of subconscious projection of my hatred towards Theresa which would enable me, with clear conscience, to toss Jane down the stairs right before her mother's eyes. I had means, I had opportunity. God knows, I had motive. It was my revenge on Theresa, because I blamed her for Sarah and Nathan's deaths."

"Was it revenge," Fancy asked.

"No," Gwen said. "At least I don't think so. I didn't have to kill Jane to use that child to get revenge on her mother. On paper and where the Harmony Court System is concerned, that child, Jane Winthrop, is still legally my daughter! Do you know how close I came to just keeping her just to spite her mother?"

"No," Fancy answered. "Ethan gave me the idea that the transfer went through without a hitch."

"In fact, I could have taken my revenge on her mother from the get-go, by making it known to Theresa that her real daughter was out there yet making sure she never found her. It would have been all too simple for me to warn Heather Hooper, and that crack-head she married, that the authorities knew about them having Jane. Don't you think I was strongly tempted to do just that?"

"I'm sure you were," Fancy conceded, "But I'm glad you didn't."

"In the end, I sent her back to Theresa the only legal way I could, by giving Jane to Ethan as part of our divorce settlement," Gwen continued. "Why? Not because I thought Theresa deserved to get Jane back. Not out of any residual love I have left over for Ethan, for that matter. I basically signed away custody of my adopted daughter and my husband to Theresa Lopez-Fitzgerald in order to be done with her. I did it because I wanted this long nightmare I've had with Theresa to end. I just wanted to have a happy peaceful life with my family in Boston. It was for my own self-preservation, and for no other reason. So, why would I sabotage myself by killing Jane?"

"You said you heard 'it' and then felt like 'it' shoved your left arm so hard that you lost your hold on Jane's hand," Fancy said, feeling Gwen's explanation sounded reasonable. "The only other person on the stairwell with you was Sheridan and she was directly behind you. Gwen, is it possible that Sheridan shoved your arm?"

"Sheridan," Gwen echoed dumbly. "No. Come one, Fancy. Sheridan is-was a mother. Her own son Marty was kidnapped by that crazy Beth that Luis was involved with and then he was killed by Alistair's enemies. I refuse to believe that Sheridan has it in her to deliberately cause harm to any child. Fancy, I know that there is still some animosity between you and Sheridan over Luis, but even you can admit that Sheridan would never do something like that."

"No, Gwen. I don't mean that Sheridan shoved your arm deliberately," Fancy lied. "I meant that Sheridan was closely following you and the girls with Maria and Katie and you were moving down the stairs so slowly and carefully. I wonder if Sheridan followed too closely and came down on your step before you left it, accidentally shoving your arm as she did so?"

"I don't know," Gwen admitted as her bedroom door opened. "To me it looked as if we both had not moved from our respective steps when Jane fell down the stairs. We didn't have much to say to each other after Jane got hurt. You'd have to ask her."

"Ask me what," Sheridan demanded as she and Luis entered the room.

"Sheridan," Fancy phrased her question carefully as Gwen looked at Sheridan hopefully. "Is it possible that you had thought that Gwen had already gone down another step and helped Maria into her step, accidentally jostling her arm?"

"No, Fancy," Sheridan answered, looking at her niece oddly. "None of us moved into Gwen's step. I'm sorry, Gwen," she continued contritely as if she noticed Gwen's upset chagrin at her answer.

"Sheridan told me that the only thing she saw from behind is that Gwen appeared to sway violently, as if she was about to fall over," Luis told Fancy. "She heard rather than saw Jane fall and then let of Maria's hand to keep Gwen and Jenny from tumbling after Jane."

"Have you checked the stairwell to see if there are any tears in the carpet that may have caught her heel and caused her to lose her balance," Sheridan suggested.

"I guess that's the next step," Luis said.

Just then, a grim-faced Pilar Lopez-Fitzgerald and a couple of maids came through Gwen's bedroom door.

"What are you doing here," Sheridan demanded.

"We are here to help Ms. Hotchkiss pack," Pilar said haughtily. "Theresa called and she wants her out of Crane House before she returns."

"Are you serious?" Sheridan bristled angrily. "Gwen-"

"That's all right," Gwen said. "I don't think it's a good idea for me to stay here, either. Luckily, I never canceled my hotel reservations. I would like you to send one of your staff to the nursery to gather up Jennifer and her belongings."

"Theresa said that Jenny is welcome to stay," Pilar smugly told Gwen.

"I go where Jenny goes," Gwen curtly informed Pilar.

"Unless you've been arrested," Pilar retorted.

"Are you two arresting me," Gwen asked Fancy and Luis.

"Of course not," Luis said, looking appalled at his mother's remarks. "We don't make arrests, if any, until after an investigation is completed."

"Just don't leave town until we're done," Fancy said gently.

"Well then, Jenny staying at Crane House without me is not necessary," Gwen said in icy tones that brooked no argument. "I booked reservations at the Harmony Hyatt with accommodations for the both of us. Luckily, I never canceled them. My daughter will be leaving with me."

"As you wish," Pilar said coldly. "Lila, go collect Ms. Hotchkiss's daughter and her things."

"Yes, ma'am," Lila said and headed to the nursery.

"Surely this can wait until tomorrow morning," Fancy said. "Forensics is still examining the stairwell and we don't want anything disturbed."

"Theresa thought of that and has arranged for Ms. Hotchkiss to leave Crane House through the servant's entrance."

"How dare she do that to my best friend-," Sheridan began to expostulate angrily.

"That's all right, Sheridan," Gwen interjected as Lila returned with Jenny and her overnight bag in hand. "I want to leave Crane House any way I can." Grabbing hold of Jenny, Gwen followed Lila to the servant's entrance and thanked and tipped the maid after they got to her car. Then she slowly made her way down Crane House's long, winding driveway to head off to her original destination of the Hyatt Hotel.


End file.
